The Sato Legacy
by KidWolff
Summary: Sequel to "The Waterbender's Love and the Mechanic's Passion." ON HIATUS... We return to the Sato family after Avatar Korra has passed on to find out that Tadashi Sato, great-grandson of Korra and Asami, is the new Avatar. (Read rest of summary in first chapter...)
1. Chapter 1

**This is the Sequel to "The Waterbender's Love and the Mechanic's Passion." We return to the Sato family after Avatar Korra has passed on to find out that Tadashi Sato, great-grandson of Korra and Asami, is the new Avatar. His mother and grandparents keep it hidden for years until an unwelcomed reminder arrives and makes them reveal the Avatar sooner than expected. But in the shadows of it all, someone plots to take Tadashi and his family down until there's nothing left of them. And in the mix of it, family drama burns alive even after all of these years.**

 **A/N: Also, I'm trying something new with incorporating flashbacks. I'd appreciate feedback on it. Also I'm thinking about portraying a more quiet and reserved Avatar different from Korra. Please let me know what you think of it down the road.**

 **I will not upload this as fast as I did "Waterbender's Love and Mechanic's Passion." That was different because it was written ahead of time. For "The Sato Legacy," I'm still in the middle of writing the book. I'm up to chapter 12 but I've been stuck in a bad writer's block lately. I'll upload weekly until things catch up. This story is much more plot-driven compared to the first book, which focused more on raising the Sato family. This second book will have a villain and more story.**

* * *

 _Korra watched as the enemy positioned himself to attack. She tried to stand up but was in too much pain. For a moment she thought about going into the Avatar state, but knew she'd be done for before she could initiate it. She sighed, knowing it was her time. She closed her eyes after she saw him make his final move and with her last breath she whispered to the air. "I'm sorry, Asami."_

* * *

"Don't you get it?!"

Tadashi huddled into the couch while his family argued in the other room about what to do next. He wished he had never started airbending, but he knew what it meant. His family was always telling him stories about his great-grandmother Korra.

"We need to inform the White Lotus so that we can provide extra security!" Karina yelled.

"No! If we start giving him special treatment, people will notice. He'll be in danger!" Riko said.

"What is he in danger of?!" Karina asked.

"He's in danger until he learns to protect himself, and even then he will always be in danger because he's the Avatar!" Riko growled. "I'll take charge of this."

"Why you? People will notice since you're the Chief-"

"Because I'm his grandmother!" Riko yelled. The room went quiet. "I'm not just the Chief…"

Olivia cautiously stepped in between her mothers. "I think you're both wrong." The young mother said. "I do think it's a bad idea to make it public until we have this under control. But providing extra precautions is too dangerous. You can take him to school today, Chi - mom, to make sure it's safe. After that we will continue what we've been doing. Don't forgot who taught me everything I know. We won't make it public until he's capable of defending himself."

"Of course…" Riko grumbled.

"Fine." Karina said in a huff.

The commotion fell silent and Tadashi looked up. If they didn't leave soon he was going to be late for school. His mom stepped back into the living room and picked him up. "Sweetie, Grandma Riko is going to take you to school for today. She just has to go change into her work uniform really quick."

Tadashi nodded and twiddled his thumbs. Riko entered the living room with a smile. "Alright, kiddo! Let's go to school!"

* * *

What could they do to make ensure Tadashi's safety? Who could they trust? Well that answer was obvious; no one but family could be trusted. They'd have to find him bending teachers as well. Obviously Riko and Olivia had already claimed the positions of earthbender teachers. Karina could possibly be his waterbending teacher. Nami was too busy with Future Industries to even think about it. There were only a handful of airbending masters so that option was limited. Jinora would probably be the preferred choice. So firebending? There was really only Kohaku, but he jumped around often to support different orphanages. Hmmm, or…

Riko was brought out of her thoughts when the young new Avatar tugged at her hand. She chuckled quietly when she realized they were at the school. She glanced down to the little boy holding her hand as they walked. Six years sure do pass fast. She shook her head to prevent old memories from resurfacing and trekked up the school stairs. She let go of his hand and the boy smiled and ran to his designated classroom.

Riko sighed and began walking back down the stairs. She glanced at the bodyguard at the entrance. Tadashi would be safe. This was a prominent school where many wealthy families sent their children. He'd be fine. She then continued her normal walk to the station.

Riko walked into the station and it seemed that everyone was already losing their minds. She sighed. "What's going on?" She asked an officer running by.

"Oh! Chief! Uh, we think we found another gang hideout!"

She chuckled lightly. "Well let's get a group together and head out." The man then ran off to collect her usual group of officers. She shook her head in good manner. It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

_Riko dashed out of her office and through the police building. "Chief, where are you headed?!" An officer hollered after her._

 _"_ _Sorry, I can't stay! Lieutenant, take care of things for me while I'm gone. I'll make up for it!" Riko glanced back at the growing crowd of officers. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Olivia's in labor!" Her officers cheered for her as she ran through the front doors._

 _Riko crashed through the ER doors and ran to the elevator, jamming the button hard. "C'mon, c'mon!" The door dinged as it opened but Riko had already squeezed through the doors and continued running. She paid no attention as she passed the window full of newborn babies. Nurses quickly hopped out of her way. Which room did they tell her again? Gah! Riko skidded to a stop, frightening the nurse next to her. "Miss, which room is Olivia Sato in?!"_

 _The nurse stuttered. "U-Umm, I believe room 325, Chief."_

 _Riko ran on, throwing a hand in the air. "Thank you!"_

 _Doctors tried to stop her until they realized who she was and quickly showed her in. Riko barged into the room from which loud screaming was coming from. She dove to the bedside. "No, I'm here sweetie. You're gonna pull through! Gah!"_

 _Riko fell to her knees as her daughter clutched her hand tight. Karina stood at the bottom of the bed, helping with the delivery. The waterbender shook her head. People always made the mistake of lending their hand to a woman in labor. "Glad you here for her, dear."_

 _"_ _Y-Yeah, me too…" Riko groaned._

 _All of a sudden, eccentric crying erupted through the room. Olivia's grip on her mother's hand loosened and Riko sat on the ground cradling her hand. Karina smiled happily as she wiped the newborn baby clean. "Mom…?"Olivia gasped._

 _Karina leaned over her with a small bundle in her arms. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and passed over the child. "You did amazing, sweetie. It's a boy."_

 _Olivia smiled and tears dripped from her eyes. She happily cradled her baby boy in her arms. Riko finally managed to stand back up, even though she hid her hand behind her back. "So have you finally picked a name?"_

 _Olivia tearfully smiled. "Tadashi."_

* * *

Riko sat up as she woke up from the dream. At least, that was how she always pictured it if she actually had been there. However, at the time of Tadashi's birth, she sadly had other things to take care of… Six years… Riko sighed. A lot happened six years ago, even though she never made the connection to Korra's passing and Tadashi's birth until now.

Karina felt the bed shift beside her and sleepily sat up and hugged the woman. Riko smiled, grabbing her hand and leaning into her shoulder. "You okay?" Karina whispered. Riko nodded. She appreciated how much the waterbender cared for her sleep and mental state, just like when they first met. Then Karina gently rubbed her head, making the old Chief purr in delight. Some things never change.

* * *

A year passed and still no one knew that the new Avatar had been found. Olivia forbad Tadashi from bending the other elements, at least until he had fully mastered earthbending. But things don't always go as planned…

"Mommm, can't we at least tell Master Jinora. You know she won't tell a soul!" Tadashi complained, pulling on his mother's hand.

Olivia sighed from her spot against the ship's railing. "No, we can't tell them yet. Remember our deal. You have to master earthbending first."

Tadashi pouted, keeping his thoughts to himself. _I'm gonna be the weakest Avatar ever! It'll be years before I completely master earthbending!_ The pout was replaced by a smile as they docked at Air Temple Island. He ran out onto the wooden deck and impatiently waited for his mother.

"I'm coming, dear." Olivia laughed. There wasn't much that got her son excited, but visiting their airbending family sure got the boy excited. Together they walked up the embankment that led to the temple. They first saw Jinora who was leading a group of airbenders in their meditation. Tadashi smiled quietly as they finally made it to them. Jinora felt their presence and smiled up at them, then pointed them in the direction of the kids. Tadashi nodded and ran off. Olivia just shook her head and took a seat a few feet away from the airbenders.

Tadashi smiled brighter when he found Sachi, Jinora's grandson. "Sachi!"

The older boy turned at the sound of his own name. "Ah! Tadashi! You made it!" Tadashi nodded his head excitedly. "We just finished meditating and now we were gonna spar! You wanna be my partner?" Tadashi nodded again. Sachi was the only one he recognized in the group of young kids. "Alright, let's head to the arena."

The boys stood on opposite ends of the small arena. The other kids stood by to watch. It was always exciting to them to see Tadashi earthbend since they don't get off of the island very much. The boy was also very skilled since he was trained by the Chief. He smirked as he started with an earth punch.

Sachi smirked as he ducked and sent a small gust of air at him. Tadashi dodged and they continued to trade hits for a few minutes. Then Sachi got the advantage as he create an air scooter and circled to boy jokingly. Tadashi smiled. The airbender always tried to brighten things up like this. He tried earthbending at him but Sachi was too fast. He tried again, and realized his mistake too late. That wasn't earthbending, it was airbending. _Oh no!_

Sachi gasped when he roughly landed on the ground. "What was that?!"

Everyone stared at Tadashi. "U-uh, it was the wind?"

Suddenly Sachi stared at him wide-eyed as he stood up. Realization had hit him. "No way…"

Tadashi tensed up and took off running.

Olivia frowned when she saw her son running back so soon. Usually she had to physically pull him away to take him home. Something must've happened. She stood up from the porch, where she had been having a nice chat and tea with Master Jinora. The elder woman stood up as well, thinking the same thing as she was.

Tadashi ran up and began pulling on his mother's arm. "Tadashi dear, what's wrong?!"

"Was Sachi too rough again?" Jinora asked.

Tadashi shook his head and continued trying to pull his mother to the docks. "Tadashi, wait!" Sachi caught up to him and gasped. "It's okay, Tadashi. We won't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?" Olivia demanded. She know Tadashi didn't do what she thought he did. Tadashi avoided her gaze and stopped trying to pull her away.

"What happened?" Jinora asked.

Sachi just eyed Tadashi, but the boy wouldn't look at him. Then the airbender looked to Jinora. "Grandma, I think you have a new student."

Jinora gasped after realizing what he meant. "Olivia! Is Tadashi the…"

Olivia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Yes, Tadashi is the Avatar. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner! We wanted him to master earthbending first so that he'd be able to defend himself!"

"We? Who else knows?" Jinora asked.

"Just Riko and Karina…"

"Olivia…this is great news! I am overjoyed!" Jinora replied. "I can understand why you wouldn't want anyone else to know. Being the Avatar can be dangerous."

"You're not mad?" Oliva asked nervously.

Jinora laughed. "Spirits no! I understand, sweetie. And I'd be honored to teach him if you wish."

Olivia suddenly smiled deeply. "Thank you Master Jinora! I'd appreciate it so much! You were actually the one Riko wanted us to ask first when we made it that far. I guess that surprise is ruined." They finally managed a laugh since the subject arose.

"We still need to be discreet about it, but I don't think anyone will notice you two coming over three or four times a week. You already come once or twice a week!" Jinora said with a smile.

"Thank you Master Jinora." Olivia replied thankfully.

Jinora looked down at the young boy. "Would you like to start today?" Tadashi smiled once again and nodded, making her laugh. "Okay, show me what you got first." Olivia watched happily as the airbending master showed her son the basics of airbending.

* * *

They spent the next two years focusing on Tadashi's airbending and earthbending. Surprisingly airbending came quite easily to him and he was a great student. He quickly picked up the spiritual side of things, which was a surprise to Jinora, knowing that it took the previous Avatar so long to master it. It was going great and no one knew a thing about it. Or so they thought. But someone had noticed the Sato's making more and more trips to the island, and it was not in good intention…

When he turned ten, Riko finally decided he was ready for the earthbending test. They took it to Air Temple Island in case he accidentally airbended. Tadashi was jumpy during the whole boat ride. Riko just smirked while Olivia seemed somewhat panicked.

"Mom, I don't think he's ready. He's only ten!"

"Well I can't wait to prove you wrong. He's a lot more skilled than you think."

Tadashi jumped on the soles of his feet as they stood on the arena. _I can do this. Grandma won't hurt me. It's just a test._

He saw the swift movement of her leg and quickly dodged the oncoming earthquake. _One of the most important things about earthbending, after stance, are earthquakes._ He jumped up and sent his own earthquake. Riko smirked and easily dodged. However, before she could get back up, a block of earth was shot at her. Obviously she felt it through her senses and continued dodging, allowing the boy to show what he had.

Olivia watched nervously from the sideline. Jinora eventually joined her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You know the Chief won't hurt him. Stop worrying so much."

Olivia sighed. "I know. It's just hard for me to believe he's ready."

"I understand how it feels to watch your child grow up right before your eyes. It can be very emotional." Jinora replied.

Olivia quickly stopped talking. She remember how Jinora had lost her daughter when she gave birth to Sachi. At least Tadashi was alive, but how long before he would be in danger?

Olivia looked up when she heard a grunt, but then smiled. Riko scowled from her seat on the ground. Tadashi gasped for air as he stayed in his earthbending stance.

Riko chuckled, which turned into a laugh. "You're even better than what I thought, kid! You pass!"

Tadashi went wide-eyed and slowly released his stance. Olivia ran over and hugged him. "You did it Tadashi!"

It took him a minute to process it before he said anything. He smirked and looked up at his mother. "So when am I allowed to start waterbending training?"

* * *

"Where do you think we can practice waterbending openly?" Karina questioned.

Riko sat deep in thought. There weren't many places that weren't public. "What about the beach shore? I don't think many people venture down there, especially at this time of year."

Olivia scowled. "I don't know, Chief. Anyone could catch us down there one time and then the whole city will know!"

While they discussed this, Tadashi smiled from his seat, anxious to continue his training.

"There's always Air Temple Island. It's far enough away that anyone looking from the city won't see it." Olivia said.

"Why don't we at least check out the shore first? What if we find the perfect hideaway where no one will see him bending? It'd be perfect."

Karina listened to their words carefully. She had the final say since she would be acting as Tadashi's waterbending master. She sighed. "As much as I don't want to, I'll at least give the shore a chance. We can go check it out tonight as a family and no one will suspect a thing. Okay?"

Tadashi skipped around the incoming waves, watching his feet leave imprints on the sand. Olivia giggled at him. Riko and Karina were holding hands lovingly. They looked like the perfect family.

"So what do ya think, dear?" Riko asked.

Karina looked around carefully. "I don't know, hun. I understand there's not anyone here now but it would just take one time for someone to catch us and then everyone will know."

"It is relaxing, though." Olivia commented from her view of the setting sun. Tadashi smiled as he watched the sky turn from red to yellow to blue.

"But it's getting late and we still haven't found a secluded area yet. Maybe the island would be better." Karina said.

Riko sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"Let's head back. We can go talk to Jinora tomorrow." Karina said.

"Sounds good. C'mon Tadashi! We're headed home!" Olivia called out to her son. However, the boy seemed to be intrigued by something. "Tadashi? We're leaving!"

Tadashi saw some spirits huddled around something down the shoreline. He watched as they hovered over it. He went wide-eyed when a spirit moved and he saw an injured animal. He dashed across the sand. "Tadashi!" His family chased after him.

The spirits looked up and floated away as he approached the hurt animal. He gasped when he saw a cat of some sort. He kneeled down next to the creature. His family stopped just short of him. "Tadashi, stay away from it." Olivia ordered quietly.

The boy didn't bother looking up at his mother. He and the animal stared into each other's eyes. Slowly, Tadashi gently caressed its fur. It groaned in pain at first, but then eased into his touch and purred.

"What is it?" Karina whispered.

"It looks like a baby armadillo-lion." Riko replied.

"It doesn't matter what it is!" Olivia said.

Tadashi then looked back at them with the most sincere emotion in his eyes. Riko recognized this look. "It does. It's his animal guide."

"What?!" Olivia yelled. "We can't keep it! It's a wild animal."

"Olivia, every Avatar has an animal guide. I think this is Tadashi's guide. He's got that same look that Korra had whenever she was with Naga." Riko explained.

Olivia scowled. "We can't keep it, though."

Riko chuckled. "You don't have a choice. They're gonna be inseparable from this point on."

"Well let me take a look at it first." Karina said, stepping away from Riko.

Karina waterbended and healed its injuries. "He'll be okay. But I think he should stay with me for a few days to observe him and make sure he's healing."

"And that'll give you a few days to make a space for him." Riko said.

Olivia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You absolutely positive of this, Chief?"

"I am." Riko smiled.

Olivia sighed again but deeper.

* * *

Olivia sighed and hung her head as Tadashi ran around the apartment roughhousing with the armadillo-cub a week later. One of them accidentally knocked over a chair, but they kept running. 'Good thing we closed shop an hour ago. At least he has a friend now.' Olivia thought. She ran a coffee shop on the first level of their apartment and they lived on the second level. "Have you thought of a name yet?" She asked from the kitchen where she was preparing dinner.

Tadashi paused, making the creature stop and return to rub against his leg. "Hiro."

Olivia rose a brow. "Hiro? Well that's an interesting name."

Tadashi nodded and petted the animal. _We're gonna be close. I can feel it, buddy._

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I got the names from Big Hero 6. I absolutely love that movie! Like seriously, I've never obsessed over a Disney movie since Brother Bear and Lilo & Stitch. Anyway, this is the only chapter that has big jumps in time. This was only to show what it was like in the beginning. The rest of the story will read like normal and the villain will actually be introduced in the next chapter (sorta). Just to clarify, Tadashi will be ten in the next chapter and that'll probably stay the same throughout the whole story. **


	3. Chapter 3

_Riko dashed through the street, rushing to catch up to the Avatar. "Damn, that woman is fast even in her old age!"_

 _She grunted as another thug stepped out in front of her, stopping her chase. She dodged a fire dagger and sent a rolling earthquake at him in return, also fending off the other approaching benders. Something was off. These weren't normal thugs. They wore none of the normal clothes affiliated with the local gangs. Riko didn't have time to ponder about it anymore when she felt a disturbance through her sensory skills, and not just the kind that disrupts the earth. "Mom!"_

 _She hurried through the last of the benders and rushed around the corner. Her breath caught in her throat and tears already trickled down her worn cheeks. Her mind raced a thousand miles per hours. How could she let this happen?_

* * *

Riko hopped off of the boat after a long day at work, but she was happy to see how her grandson's training was going along. She set foot on ground again and was greeted by Jinora. Riko smiled at her old friend. "It's been awhile, Chief."

"That is has. How goes the airbending training?"

Jinora smiled. "Your grandson is an amazing student. It's almost like he was born to do airbending."

Riko smirked. "I guess he gets it from me." They laughed together and headed towards the training grounds. They found the waterbenders by the water of course. Riko smiled as she saw her wife try to show Tadashi how to waterbend. It seemed this element was being a little bit more difficult. He struggled with the fluid motions since he was used to the rigid stances of earthbending.

Riko quietly snuck up behind them. Tadashi looked over and couldn't help the smile that came upon his face. Karina noticed and smirked. She began showing the boy an example of a basic waterbending move.

Riko was about to pounce on the waterbender when she was suddenly soaked to the bone. Karina whipped around and crossed her arms with a smirk while Tadashi laughed. Riko pouted and hung her shoulders.

"You're not a sneaky as you think you are." Karina commented.

All of a sudden Riko smirked. Karina noticed and frowned. Riko quickly jumped up and grabbed her wife. Karina screamed and tried to push her away but it was too late. Riko happily hugged the woman even though she was soaked. "I'm gonna get you back for this." Karina growled with a shiver.

Riko smirked more. "I'm sure you will."

They looked up when they saw Tadashi and his new animal guide playing in the water. Riko smiled and ran after them, leaving her wife behind. Karina sighed happily as she watched her wife play with their grandson in the shallow water.

After a while, Riko allowed Karina and Tadashi to get back to training. The Chief sat down next to her daughter and the two watched in content as they waterbended. The Sun was beginning to go down and Riko was growing bored, but the two still were training. She sighed and decided to see how far she could use her seismic sense this time. She went all the way to the pier, to the police station, to Future Industries factory, and further into the Earth territories. She began making her way back, taking her time to see everything. She could see families begin packing up and leaving the park. Workers were finally getting off of their day-shifts. She pushed harder and saw Nami still in her office at work. Riko sighed. 'That workaholic, just like mom.'

She almost cut the connection off when she sensed that someone had been at the ship port for the whole time. She scowled and sat up. Olivia saw her confusion and watched whatever was happening.

Riko saw a man leaning on post, looking towards Air Temple Island. She looked closer and saw a high-tech camera. Riko immediately jumped up and raced towards her family. "Stop!"

Karina and Tadashi froze. "Sweetie, what's the matter?"

"We're being watched." Everyone went wide-eyed. Riko growled and stomped off. "Stay here. I'm gonna take care of it."

Karina dragged Tadashi back to Olivia and then raced after her wife, but Riko had already jumped on the boat and was headed back to the mainland.

Riko growled loudly as she dashed down the port. She saw the man several yards away. She yelled and charged at the man. The man lowered his camera from position when he heard her and immediately took off running scared. "Get back here!"

She easily caught up with the man and tackled him into the ground. She then snatched the camera away and began shuffling through the pictures. "I-I'm so sorry Chief! Please don't hurt me! I'm just doing my job!"

Riko frowned when she only saw pictures of the airbenders. She then turned to him. "What were you doing spying on Air Temple Island?"

"I-I was assigned to check out how the airbenders had been doing in the past few years. They tend to keep to themselves nowadays."

Riko then noticed the press badge around his neck. "You're a reporter."

"Y-Yes."

Riko sighed and handed the camera back to the man. "I understand you're just doing your job, but at least get permission from Master Jinora next time. I'm sure she wouldn't mind answering a few questions for you. If I see you here again you'll get a ticket."

"Y-Yes ma'am. My apologies! I'll be on my way." The man then dashed off in a hurry to get away from her. Riko sighed, but then chuckled at the situation. She seriously just took down a reporter for taking pictures. Wait until Karina hears this.

* * *

The man hurried to turn in what few pictures he got of the airbenders to the head journalist. Then he raced towards an old rundown apartment complex near the Spirit Portal. About a dozen or so men lined the room.

"Thank you for finally joining us. Did you complete your assignment?" A deep voice asked from the end of the room.

The man nervously stepped up and presented some prints of the Sato family on Air Temple Island. "I could see the boy was waterbending with Master Karina. But I thought he was an earthbender?"

The man smirked and shuffled through the sorted pictures. "He is. Now I know why they've been going there so often. It looks like the Sato family has another secret to hide. We just might expose them for it. Good job. I'm counting on you to get more evidence next time." He then looked to the tall man leaning against the wall next to him. "You're up, Lieutenant."


	4. Chapter 4

Riko kicked a rock down a street as she walked to work one early morning. The rock abruptly stopped when it clanked against a can. The Chief looked up and blinked in surprise. There was a small child sitting on the curb with a can holding two measly coins. He was covered head to toe in dirt and was wearing old tattered clothes. He didn't appear to notice her as she walked up to him. She could hardly believe there were still orphans around after everything her family had done to provide for them.

"Hey kid." The boy cautiously looked up at her. "What are you doing out here?"

The boy shrugged. "Just trying to survive."

"Where are your parents?"

"Tch, I don't know."

Riko blinked. The boy didn't seem to care that he was homeless. She sighed and grabbed him by his upper arm.

"Hey, where are you taking me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Riko chuckled. He apparently recognized her uniform at least. "I'm taking you to somewhere that's safe."

She smiled as the building formerly known as the Sato Mansion came into view. That was when the boy began pulling away from her.

"I don't wanna be adopted!"

Riko paused and knelt down to his level. "Do you actually know who I am? Or am I just another officer to you?"

The boy rose a brow, unsure of how to answer her. He just thought she was another cop. She chuckled. "I'm the Chief-of-Police. I help people. And I was once an orphan too. You may not want to be adopted now, but when and if you do get adopted, you'll realize it's one of the most amazing things in the world. But if you decide you don't want to be adopted, you won't be forced. They will simply take care of you here. How does that sound?"

The boy, showing a shocked expression, simply nodded his head and allowed her to show him to the home.

* * *

 _"_ _Get out!"_

 _Riko sighed ruggedly and drudged down the street. She really made Karina mad earlier. She couldn't even recall how the fight started. Either way, Karina kicked her out for the time being, which was incredibly harsh considering that the worse punishment she'd gotten so far was a night on the couch._

 _Asami greeted her oldest child at the front door by leaning on the doorframe as she walked up the stairs. "What happened?"_

 _Riko shrugged and walked past her. "Riko, c'mon. It can't be that bad." Asami paused when she saw the bag on her daughter's back. "Okay, maybe not."_

 _Riko sighed heavily and dropped onto the couch. "Can I just please stay here for the night?"_

 _Asami blinked. "Of course, dear! You don't even have to ask."_

 _Riko smiled sadly. "Thanks mom. Where's Korra?"_

 _"_ _Oh Korra's on a trip with the airbenders to one of the temples. At least she left Naga with me." Asami said. Naga lifted her head up from the floor at the mention of her name. Riko sadly nodded and began the trek to her old room._

 _"_ _I'm assuming my room is still as it was." Riko said. Asami nodded and watched her walk up the stairs._

 _Riko froze outside of her old bedroom door. Someone else was inside. It felt like a small child, though. Riko dropped her bag loudly on the floor to alert the intruder. She sensed the person frantically look around for a hiding spot. Riko couldn't help but to smirk to herself a little bit. It was definitely a young child._

 _She carefully poked her head inside and was surprised to not immediately find the child. 'Very good.' She thought._

 _She peered around the room and noticed some dirt had collected on the bed, which by the way looked quite disheveled. 'That's weird.'_

 _That's when she noticed a trail of dirt leading towards the closet. She carefully tiptoed closer. Then she yanked open the door. There was a loud 'eep!' sound followed by the child running through her legs._

 _"_ _Hey wait, kid!"_

 _The child froze once at the opposite side of the room. Riko carefully bent down to the kid, who looked probably 5 or 6. "What're you doing here?"_

 _The young girl fiddled with her tattered shirt before speaking. "I-I don't have a home."_

 _In that instant, Riko had a flashback that was similar to this very same moment. Korra carefully approached young Riko once she found her just as Riko was doing to this young girl. Just as Korra, Riko wanted to help her. This girl reminded Riko of herself._

 _Riko gulped. "You're safe here. Does Asami Sato know you've been living here?"_

 _"_ _S-Sato?! N-No! I'm so sorry!" The girl apologized._

 _Riko smirked to herself. Literally the same reaction she had to Korra. "It's okay. We'll take care of you. How'd you get up here in the first place?"_

 _"_ _I-I used my earthbending."_

 _Riko rose a brow. "You're an earthbender? So am I."_

 _The young girl looked at her questionably. "My name's Riko Sato. What's your name?"_

 _"_ _You're a Sato…" She whispered more to herself in disbelief. "M-My name's Olivia."_

 _Riko smiled. "Well Olivia, would you like to come live with me and my wife for the time being? We can actually feed you and give you clothes if you'd like. You don't have to sneak around."_

 _The young girl anxiously looked up. "S-Sure."_

* * *

"Kohaku!" Riko hollered once they made it inside. Even though the man was jumping from town to town, Republic City was the head of his command. He was found here more often than not.

She saw her brother jump onto the stairwell and sighed. He then proceeded to slide all the way down to the front entrance. He almost made it, except he tripped on the landing.

The child giggled beside her. Kohaku jumped up and saluted. He still had broad shoulders from doing probending, yet as the years passed his hair was starting to gray. "Welcome to Sato Orphanage! How may I be of assistance?" Riko punched him in the shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"For making the best first impressions. Anyway, I found this kid on my way to work. Do you think you can find a place for him?"

Kohaku went slightly wide-eyed. "You found him on the streets? I thought we pretty much cleared Republic City of orphans when we rebuilt the mansion."

"I thought so too, but apparently not."

Kohaku shook his head to get rid of his shock. "Well of course we can still find a place for him! You know how big this house is!"

Riko smiled, thinking of their childhood memories in this house. "Thanks bro. Remember to stay in touch."

"Hey, it goes both way!"

Riko laughed and walked out of the mansion. Kohaku may not have any kids of his own, but he's done a tremendous job with raising the orphans. He was surprisingly skilled when it came to kids.

Nonetheless, the station was shocked to see her arrive to work over an hour late.


	5. Chapter 5

_Riko couldn't believe it. There was absolutely no way this had happened, especially on her watch. She grit her teeth together in a growl. The assailant glanced back at her, but his mask covered everything but his eyes. His eyes were a rich blue color, staring back at her. Riko felt her energy leave her as she ran past him to her mother's side._

* * *

"Mom?"

Olivia looked down to her son. "Yes dear?"

"When can I start firebending?"

Olivia and Karina both looked at each other in shock. Waterbending was taking much long than earth and air.

Olivia hesitantly looked back at him. "Sweetie, why are you asking that? You're still learning waterbending."

Tadashi nodded in acknowledgement. "Well Dad's here."

Both women jumped up from their seats on the ferry and looked across the harbor. Within two seconds, Olivia was fuming. She had to bite her lip to keep from cursing in front of her son. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"I don't know, hun. Just take Tadashi home and I'll deal with him."

"No, I want to know why he's here! He's obviously waiting for us."

They waited until the ferry touched down at the port and stepped off. The man walked up to them happily. "Oh Tadashi, how you've grown!" He had slick black hair and sideburns that led to the stubble on his jawline. He stood much taller than any of them.

Tadashi looked up to his mother to gauge what to do. His mother simply held a hand in front of the boy, shielding him. Hiro, the armadillo-cub, stepped up beside his Avatar to defend him. Tadashi frowned. If Hiro didn't like his father, what did that mean?

"Kenji, stay away." Olivia demanded.

The man halted where he stood. "C'mon Olivia, you and I both know that I still have rights to my son."

"Well you sure haven't been using it for the past ten years." Olivia replied, crossing her arms.

Tadashi nervously tiptoed to stand next to his grandmother while his parents argued. Karina noticed and patted him on the shoulder before speaking up. "Olivia, I'm going to take Tadashi back to my place so you two can sort this out on your own."

Kenji went rigid. He saw the unspoken message she was saying. 'If you want to get to my grandson, you'll have to go through me.' He really didn't want a fight, especially with a master waterbender.

Karina then grabbed Tadashi's hand and they walked back to their apartment. Olivia and Kenji stood glaring at each other on the docks. "Get to the point, Kenji. I know you don't really want to see your son, seeing as you didn't want him in the first place." She demanded, yet whispered the last part to herself.

"Fine, you're right. You are always right. I just came with fabulous news I wish to share." Kenji announced sarcastically. Olivia picked up on it and waited for him to continue. He smirked and stepped closer to her until her was just a few inches away from her. "I know where the new Avatar is."

Olivia went wide-eyed and hastily stepped away from him. "W-What are you talking about? No one's seen the Avatar in ten years."

"Yes, exactly! I wished I would've realized it earlier. Tadashi was born on the day Avatar Korra died."

"And how would that have helped you? You didn't even stick around for the delivery. You didn't care."

"I would have if I knew he was the Avatar."

"That's so selfish of you, yet I'm not surprised." Olivia growled.

Kenji just chuckled. "So tell me, how many elements has he mastered so far?"

Olivia bit her tongue. She couldn't tell him the truth, even if he already knew. "I told you he's not the Avatar. You have no business with my family, so leave."

Olivia turned and began walking away. "He's starting to get waterbending down pretty good, isn't he?" Kenji's smirk deepened when he saw his former lover freeze. "Oh yes, I've seen it. And the airbending came quite easily to him too. But I haven't seen any firebending yet. That saddens me. I like to think it'd come pretty easy to him, seeing as his father is a firebender."

Olivia abruptly turned to glare at him. They stood quietly, air tense. "I don't believe you."

Kenji laughed. "Do you need proof?! Here!" The man shoved a handful of pictures at her. Olivia gulped as she scanned each photo. Each was of Tadashi bending earth, air, and water. Olivia shakily looked up at him with just one thought in her head. How did he get these?

The earthbender ripped them up into shreds and buried them in the earth. "What do you want?"

The smirk never left Kenji's face. "So you admit he's the Avatar?"

"Just tell me what you want."

Kenji chuckled. "I don't want anything. I just thought you should know that you're not as sneaky as you think."

He then began walking away. Olivia watched until he disappeared, then she ran as fast as she could to her parents' home.

* * *

"WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

Everyone in the apartment jumped and ran to the front door. Karina saw how panicked she was and quickly comforted her. "Sweetie, what happened with Kenji?"

Riko was already on high alert and began pacing the room, thinking he had hurt her daughter. Olivia leaned on her knees to catch her breath. "Mom… He has pictures… He knows Tadashi is the Avatar!"

Both elder women went wide-eyed. Riko continued pacing near the windows, watching the outside world. Karina worriedly watched her for a few seconds before turning back to Olivia. "How do you know? What happened?"

"He had pictures of Tadashi bending the different elements! He said he wanted nothing in return but we all know that's not true! Something bad is going to come out of this."

Riko suddenly walked back towards her family. "You need to get out of the city."

"W-What?! You think it's that serious?" Olivia gasped.

"Yes, you need to take Tadashi away from here. I'm thinking the Southern Water Tribe. Karina can go with you. It'll be safer there." Riko explained.

Both women looked at her like she was crazy. "Mom!" "Riko!"

"Please! I have a plan! Just do as I ask!" Riko pleaded.

"What would that plan be? Finally go after that son of a bitch?" Olivia retorted.

"I'm going to tell the city about the new Avatar."

The room went quiet. "Are you crazy?" Karina asked quietly.

Riko chuckled. "Maybe I am. But that's why I need you all to leave the city. When I disclose that information, people will probably be mad that we withheld it for all of these years. Some may even come after you. They can't get you in the South. And by the time the information reaches the South, it'll be safe for you to come back home, not that the Southerners would try to hurt any of you, because that's where Korra is from…"

The trio stood in the living room thinking about the situation. Olivia shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this is happening. But if you think that's the best thing to do right now, then alright."


	6. Chapter 6

_Riko hesitantly laid her hands on her mother's cheeks. Wide-eyed and teary, she wondered how this had happened. She closed her eyes, releasing a low growl. She touched the icicle that pierced her mother's chest and thought better than to remove it. If she had any hope of surviving, she couldn't allow her to bleed out. She carefully stood up, back facing the opposing man. She bared her teeth, having a new resolve. She abruptly turned around to face him. Even with her menacing glare, the man's resolve appeared unbroken. She grit her teeth even more and dashed towards the enemy._

* * *

Riko stood nervously behind the podium in front of City Hall. She had grown quite used to talking in front of the ever huge crowd, but today was different. She was going to share news that would affect more than just her family but the world too. She sighed. She was suddenly glad that she waited another day to have this press conference to give her family more time to sail away. But that also meant she was essentially alone if someone came after the Sato name.

The President, Raiko Jr., laid a hand on her shoulder, silently saying to start. He was much nicer than his father as president. She took a breath and finally made the last few steps to the podium. She cleared her throat to gain the crowd's attention.

"Thank you all for coming out today on such short notice." She paused to think about her next words. "I have special news to share with the world."

The reporters immediately started asking about her relationship with Karina and the rest of her family. Riko raised her hand to quiet them. "This is not about me or my family, well, not specifically at least…" For once the crowd was quiet for the most part. Riko figured to just get to the point to prevent them from asking other stupid questions. "The new Avatar has been found."

And just like a light switch, the crowd erupted with questions. "Isn't the next Avatar supposed to be a male?" "Which Earth territory is he from?" "How did you find him?" "What took so long?!"

Riko bit her lip as she was bombarded with questions. "Okay, okay, I understand there are many unanswered questions. But I will only disclose information that the public needs to know." Riko hesitated to continue, knowing she wouldn't be able to change her mind afterwards. "The Avatar was found four years ago." She continued on even though the crowd was still yelling out questions.

"His identity was kept hidden so he could train without worrying about potential enemies. The only people who have known are his family and the masters that train him. He is not a fully recognized Avatar yet. He's only ten years old so he has a lot to learn still. We-"

Collectively the reporters asked the same question: "WHO IS HE?"

The Chief sighed. "His name is Tadashi Sato…"

"As in your grandson?!" "You knew your grandson was the Avatar and kept it secret?!" "Who's been teaching him?!" And so on and so on came the questions nonstop.

Riko grit her teeth. She didn't have her wife to keep her calm or her siblings to stand by her. She was alone in this. "I know the public may be upset with the delay of these news, but if I had done this when we found out then the boy would be in more danger. At least now he has several skills under his belt, even at ten years old."

She struggled to keep her cool because the reporters kept asking endless questions. She released a low growl. "That's all I can talk about for now! If anything comes up, I'll be will be sure to keep the public informed." With that she finally stepped down from the podium. The crowd grew even louder with their questions.

She stepped into quiet City Hall with an appalled president behind her. "U-Uh, C-Chief, is that really true? Your grandson is the Avatar?"

Riko sighed. "Yes, Tadashi is the Avatar. You have to understand why we kept this secret. After everything that happened to Korra, I didn't want it to happen again especially since he's so young. He's still not capable of defending himself completely."

"No, I-I understand. It's just so crazy to think we've finally found our Avatar." Raiko Jr. said.

Reporters knocked on the entrance of City Hall, trying to ask more questions. Riko tried to ignore it. "Well I think the public is going to have a tough time processing this as well."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Future Industries Offices…

The secretary ran into the main office. The CEO looked up tiredly from her papers. "Yes, what is it now?"

"Um, um, M-Miss Sato. Chief Sato has just announced some big news."

Nami scowled. "Well what's come up? She doesn't do conferences very often. Something big must've happened."

Nami began to stand up while her secretary babbled nonsense. She had to sit her down on the couch to calm her down. "C-Chief Sato said she found the new Avatar."

Nami froze, wide-eyed. "What?" She whispered out. Before she knew it her body was walking towards the exit. "M-Miss!" Nami paused after she just opened the door. "It's your great-nephew."

Nami took a deep breath before whisking out of the office.

* * *

Elsewhere…

Kohaku laughed with the crew as they carried supplies onto the airship. He was headed back to some of the Earth territories to provide more supplies. He carried the last box up the ramp. Suddenly one of the orphans from the Sato mansion came running up. "M-Mister Kohaku! Chief Sato is on the radio! She's making an announcement!"

Then the kid ran off. Kohaku rose a brow. "Riko's making an announcement? That's odd. I better go find out what's going on." He then ran after the kid.

He found that radio surrounded by orphans. He chuckled and sat down next to them to listen.

…

Kohaku was in shock. Tadashi was the Avatar? Why hadn't Riko told him? Several of the orphans looked towards him. "Aren't you related to him?" They asked.

Kohaku shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the shock. "Um, yeah, I am. Um, excuse me kids."

"Where are you going?!"

"I need to make some changes with the next trip."

* * *

Kenji smirked happily from his seat in the bar. The regulars surrounded the radio in awe of what they just heard. However, he was overjoyed. The Sato's were playing right into his hand. And he would crush them. The plan was finally falling into place.

* * *

"You've been hiding the Avatar all of this time?!" "Did Avatar Korra ask you to do this?!" "Does the rest of your family know this?!"

Riko was ambushed when she tried to sneak out of the building. She didn't bother answering their questions and ran towards the station. However, she was surprised when she got there. Nami and Kohaku both leaned against a car waiting on her. Both looked quite angry and upset. They finally noticed her coming and Nami angrily stomped up to her.

"W-Wait, guys I can explain. Ow, ow, ow!" Riko was cut off when her younger sister grabbed her by the ear and dragged her into the car.

"I don't wanna hear it! Get in!" Nami ordered. Then she drove them back to her office building.

"You can't kidnap me! I'm the Chief!"

"Yeah and I'm your sister so let's go!"

Riko crossed her arms while she quietly stood in Nami's office at Future Industries. She knew it was Asami's old office, but they had changed it up so they wouldn't have disrupting memories. Kohaku stood beside her, trying to look away from her and glare at her at the same time. Nami leaned against the front of her desk with a hand to her forehead, still trying to process everything.

Riko looked to her brother. "I thought you were supposed to be leaving for the Earth Kingdom again?"

Kohaku scoffed. "Yeah, well it got changed all of a sudden. Maybe you can explain that part."

Riko was about to bite the bait when Nami interrupted them. "Shut up before you destroy my office again!"

Everyone went quiet again. Eventually Riko sighed and spoke up. "Do you want to question me now or are we going to just stand here all day? I have a job you know."

"Riko, shut up." Nami ordered.

Riko grit her teeth. If Nami thought she was just going to take the abuse then she was quite mistaken. "What am I here for then?!"

"Why did you hide it from us?!" Nami erupted. Riko bit her tongue in shock. Nami ran a hand through her hair, reminding her of their mother. "We've been siblings since we were kids! I know we haven't always been close, but damn it you'd think you'd share it when you found the next Avatar!"

Riko stuttered. "I-I… We just… I'm sorry, alright! I didn't know what to do! We didn't even want anyone to know but somehow it got out!"

"So how did it happen?" Kohaku asked quietly.

Riko sighed. "When Tadashi was 6, Olivia rushed to our apartment just freaking out. That's when Tadashi airbended in front of us. We decided to keep it a secret between us, or at least until he was skilled enough to protect himself. We all know what happened to Korra, so that's why. I didn't want to risk it getting out or anyone getting hounded by the press if it did get out. And now it has finally got out. I'm not entirely sure how, but somehow Kenji is involved."

At the mention of the man's name, both of her siblings tensed up.

"Kenji?" Kohaku asked, scowling.

Nami slid off of her desk. "What's that idiot doing around here?"

Riko shook her head. "I don't know. He was waiting for Tadashi and Olivia to come back from Air Temple Island one day while he was training. Luckily Karina was there to bring Tadashi back here to get him away while Olivia let loose on him. But he had pictures; pictures of Tadashi bending. That was just two days ago. I made Karina take Tadashi and Olivia to the South Pole until things cool down. I don't want anyone in danger."

The tense air finally settled down some. Kohaku laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, sis. We understand now. We were just hurt that we found out through the radio instead of you just telling us."

"Yeah, we'll do whatever we can to help with Tadashi." Nami spoke up. She tenderly smiled at her while approaching her. "We're family, remember?"

Kohaku happily nodded. Riko returned the gentle smile and let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks guys. I thought you would be really mad at me."

"Well we were at first but we completely understand." Nami chuckled. Then she closed the space between them with a hug. Kohaku eagerly joined in, making it a group hug.

"You know now we're all going to be hounded by the press, right?" Riko mumbled out into Nami's shoulder.

"Yeah, we know, but we're Sato's. We can handle it." Nami replied.

Riko smiled and tightened her arms around them. "You guys are the best."

Nami's secretary interrupted the group hug. "Umm, Miss Sato? There are a bunch of reporters outside."

Nami sighed and released her siblings. "They must have seen me drag you away."

"Or they just want to question you because you're a Sato." Riko replied. "They're gonna want to question everyone who's involved with our family."

Nami scoffed. "Oh please, I've gotten pretty skilled at scaring reporters away. You two should sneak away while I distract them."

They nodded and snuck out through the back entrance.

* * *

The smooth man smirked at their leader. "The Sato's are playing right into our hand, boss."

Their leader's eyes were shaded by his hood. "Oh I know. The city is in an uproar thanks to you." He smirked evilly. "Good job riling them up, Lieutenant. I expect you'll keep harassing them."

"Of course, sir. It's a joy to aggravate them. We'll be able to take them down, I assure you."

"Good. Now I don't want them getting too suspicious of you. So this next assignment is going to someone else. They are already on-board and are just waiting for the right moment."

The Lieutenant raised a brow. "What might that be, if I may ask?"

The leader laughed. "Chief Sato is not as sly as she thinks."


	7. Chapter 7

_Riko charged at the man who killed Korra and they began to fight. Riko put up a good fight and started to tire him out when suddenly an icicle shot into her shoulder. Another icicle to the thigh landed her on the ground. She pushed herself to her elbows and saw feet in front of her. She looked up and saw the man aiming one last icicle at her. She hung her head, feeling the will to continue on disappear. She closed her eyes and let the waterbender do it, but then he was earthbended away. Riko quickly looked up and saw old Lin Bei Fong across the street. Lin continued to push the man to his limits. Riko watched and waited for the opportunity to strike. She saw an opening and used her good arm to bend the ground to trip the man. He frantically staggered back up and ran away, realizing that he was at the end of his rope after the battle with the Avatar. After a small debate in her head, Lin decided to run to Korra's aid instead of chasing after the assailant._

* * *

"Is this such a good idea?"

"*sigh* I don't know honestly, but Riko seems to think this is best, dear." Karina replied to her daughter.

The earthbender sighed and looked down next to her. She expected to see Tadashi sticking his head through the bar of the railing to watch over the expanding sea, but instead he was laying his head on the rail sullenly. Olivia didn't realize he was tall enough to reach the bar. She sighed again. Her little boy really was growing up. Ten years old and expected to protect the world. Though it wasn't unheard of. Avatar Aang had done the same at twelve. But the world was peaceful now. There were no wars. The only thing that disrupted Republic City was the occasional gang activity, which was always taken care of by the police.

Her racing thoughts were disrupted when her son sighed. "What's wrong, dear?"

The boy pouted. "Everything's gonna change."

Olivia frowned and patted him on the head. "The Chief will take care of it before we get back."

A sudden ruckus from the crew interrupted them. "No! Move it that way! Gah! Watch out!" Suddenly a beam fell and headed for the family below. Karina moved fast and pushed her family out of the way and waterbended an icicle to stop the beam. She breathed in relief and moved out of the way as well.

"Miss! Are you okay?" A crew member yelled from above.

"Yeah! No one got hurt."

The man crawled down through pipes and ladders. "I'm so sorry. Uh? W-Wait? Are you Mrs. Sato?! Oh spirits! I'm so sorry! It was an accident!"

Karina chuckled and waved it off. "It's okay, really. No one was injured. I stopped it from damaging the boat as well."

"T-Thank you very much. I'm so very sorry, again. It won't happen again."

And with that, the man instructed his crew to move the beam and get back to work.

Karina quietly ushered her family to their shared cabin room. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

"I don't think that was an accident."

Olivia gasped. "What makes you think that?"

Karina shook her head and scowled. "Just mother's intuition. It's getting late. We should get ready for bed. The South is still 2 days away."

Olivia told Tadashi to use the bathroom first and then the boy hopped onto the top bunk to sleep.

* * *

 _Knock knock!_ "Room service!"

Olivia sleepily picked her head up from the pillow and looked at the door. "Room service?"

"Shh!" Karina was already out of bed and standing defensively. "We didn't order room service! Thank you anyway!"

The air went still as everyone went quiet.

"Uh, okay! Must be the wrong room. My apologies for disturbing you!" The man replied and walked to the next room.

"That was weird." Olivia commented. Karina rose a brow at her. "Okay, yes, I do think something is going on now. But that doesn't mean they're after Tadashi. I mean, our family is pretty high up there."

Karina sighed and sat down on her bed. "I know, but we can't take chances. We need to be careful while we're here."

The rest of the day continued with more weird coincidences. A waiter spilled a drink on Olivia. Their lunch took forever to arrive. A bigger kid pushed Tadashi into a trash can. (Karina lost control at that point.) It was just a crazy day and they still had a full day of sailing tomorrow.

The next day things seemed to escalate much faster. After breakfast, a man in a suit approached them. Karina stepped in front of her family as the man began to talk. "Hello, I couldn't help but notice you were traveling passengers on this boat. I'm a salesman and I'm trying to-"

"I'm sorry sir, but we're not interested. We need to get going. C'mon." Karina said and began guiding her family away.

Suddenly the man reached out for Tadashi. Olivia went wide-eyed as she felt it through her sensory skills and urgently pushed the man away. "Who are you?!"

The man smirked devilishly and straightened his tie. "Why, I'm a mere businessman. I just happened to be working with the other side!" He claimed as he rushed back at them, ice knife at the ready.

Olivia pushed her son back and prepared an attack, but her mother beat her to it. She formed her own icicle and the two of them clashed.

"Mom!"

"It's okay, dear! Stay with Tadashi!" Karina yelled.

Olivia glanced back at Tadashi, but then the boy ran ahead. "Tadashi, no!"

"I'm tired of hiding!" Tadashi yelled as he waterbended too.

Tadashi shot a small stream of water at the man who was about to strike his grandmother. Karina gasped. "Tadashi! What're you doing?!"

The boy ignored her and fought off the enemy. The man grunted as he was pushed back. They shot and dodged each other's moves for a few minutes. Karina jumped in and helped corner him.

The man smirked. "The Avatar is good for his age."

Karina glared at him. "Shut your mouth!" Then she proceeded to angrily freeze him to the wall. He chuckled and showed his palms in surrender.

* * *

Karina angrily stomped off of the ship. Olivia and Tadashi decided to let her go. A young water tribe woman tried to approach her but Karina kept walking. The woman, clad in ornate furs and beads, chuckled and greeted the earthbenders. "What's got Aunt Karina all red?"

The two of them quickly turned around with bright smiles on their faces. "Hikari!"

The woman spread her arms. "Princess Hikari, remember? Now give your cousin a hug."

Olivia eagerly embraced the woman. "Oh it's been too long!"

"Indeed it has." Hikari replied. Then Tadashi hugged her. "Dear, how you've grown! The last time I saw you, you had just started earthbending!"

Tadashi giggled. "I'm grown up now."

Hikari rose a brow and bopped his nose. "Oh really? Well we'll have to spar and see how much you've grown up."

Oliva nervously crossed her arms. "Oh I think he's pretty grown up. You should see what he did to this guy."

Hikari frowned. "What're you talking about?"

"You didn't know? I thought that's why you were here. A guy attacked us on the ship."

"What?!" Hikari yelled. "Oh no, not on my ship! Where is he?"

Just then two guards appeared carrying the spy off of the ship. Hikari sighed roughly. "I'm so sorry guys. I don't know how this happened, but I'm going to take care of it! But first, let's head back to the palace. My father has a big dinner planned."

They finally loaded their luggage onto a snowmobile and headed inland.

The group entered the throne room only to see Karina stomping around the enormous room with the Chief of the South Pole sitting calmly in his seat. Karina whipped around to face them.

"We're headed home."

Hikari crossed her arms. "Geez, it's nice to see you again Aunt Karina. Not even a hello? This is new."

Karina huffed and shoved past her.

"I can't let you go."

Karina froze and slowly turned around. Olivia and Tadashi watched nervously from the door. "You're giving _me_ an order?"

Hikari chuckled and stepped closer. "No, _I'm_ not. Aunt Riko is. She gave me a direct order not to let you leave the South Pole until she gave the clear. This is out of my control."

"I am not in your control." Karina growled. "If we're not safe here, we're not safe anywhere. We might as well go back home to settle this."

"You're the safest here. No one knows about Tadashi here, and even when they do find out, no one here will hurt him."

Karina jutted out her lip and breathed in and out. She slowly closed her eyes then opened them. "Get Riko on the phone, _now_."

* * *

"Hey sweetie, how was the trip? I'm sorry I couldn't get anything better on such short notice."

"We're coming home _ASAP._ "

"Um, did something happen?"

"Riko, we were attacked! People already know! It isn't safe!"

"W-What?! That's not possible!"

" _Shut up_! I don't want to hear it! I'm so angry right now!"

Olivia, Tadashi, and Hikari listened from around the corner. Karina was really losing her cool. It was such a rare occasion. No one knew how to handle it still.

"Sweetie, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! I swear when I come home you are in the doghouse for a month!"

All three of the younger ones grimaced.

"And you three stop eavesdropping!"

"GAH!" All three of them jumped and ran down the hallway.

* * *

Karina drudged into her bedroom and slumped into bed. A snore had just escaped her when a knock came on her door. She jumped up and saw her daughter peeking through the door. "Hey mom. So what happened with Chief?"

Karina sighed and patted the bed beside her. Olivia grinned and sat down. "Well, we are going to stay here for at least a week. She's convinced the city isn't safe still. The press are hounding her and Nami and Kohaku and anyone else involved with us. They're even trespassing on Air Temple Island."

Olivia went wide-eyed. "That's ridiculous."

"Exactly. As angry as I am still, Hikari is right. We are safest here."

"Well I already put Tadashi to bed. I'm exhausted from the trip and I _know_ you are too. So goodnight mom."

She then got up and started walking out. "Wait dear." Olivia stopped and looked back. "I love you."

Olivia smiled and nodded. "I love you too, mom."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Riko huffed and dropped into her empty bed. 'I miss Karina. I wish she hadn't been so mad earlier. But at least they're safe.'

She sighed and grabbed her wife's pillow. Something jumped onto the bed and cuddled up to her side. "Sorry Hiro. I didn't forget about you." She chuckled.

The armadillo-lion purred and curled into a ball.

* * *

The week passed slowly. The news was starting to spread. People were growing uneasy. It wasn't until the last day there did it get weird.

The family jumped off of the snowmobile and walked towards the ship set for Republic City. As they walked, the crowd slowly parted for them, turning to stare in surprise. Olivia noticed and laid a hand on her son's shoulder. It was completely silent, which was odd for such a busy dock.

Just as they reached the railing of the ship, Tadashi turned around. The people stood in awe of him. He searched around the crowd before speaking. "I am the Avatar."

The crowd erupted in cheers and smiles. Tadashi grinned before joining his family on the boat. Olivia eyed him carefully before chuckling. "You're growing up right before our eyes."

Tadashi's smile deepened. "I am. And you gotta deal with it."

Karina gasped and went wide-eyed, dropping her crossed arms. Olivia noticed and gently shook her shoulder. "Mom? You alright?"

"Y-Yeah… C'mon, let's go find our cabin."

Hikari smiled at them. "I promise it's much nicer than the last one.

* * *

Riko was waiting for them when they arrived. The Chief ran up and swooped up her wife in her arms. "I missed you so, so much! I'm sorry about what happened! It's gonna get taken care of."

Karina giggled. "It's okay, hun. I might've overreacted."

Tadashi kneeled down and Hiro tackled him. He laughed as the armadillo-lion licked at his cheeks.

The happy family reconnected as they walked to the car. Journalists were in the distance, being held at bay by a few officers. Kohaku and Nami were also waiting.

The firebender saw the young Avatar and ran to meet up with him, swinging him into the air. Nami started to follow him, but was stopped by an invisible force. Everyone else joined in the laughter except Hikari.

The two waterbenders stared off for a minute straight. "Hello Hikari."

"Hello mother."


	8. Chapter 8

_Riko laid flat on the ground, letting the pain finally reach her brain. She could feel herself slipping away too when she suddenly heard sirens getting very close. Everyone was running to Korra's side. 'Of course they are,' Riko thought. 'Korra's the Avatar of this city. She's our great leader. I'm just the Chief who everyone always thought was going to fail.' She sighed. 'And I have failed…'_

 _"_ _Korra!"_

 _'_ _Oh no!' Riko cringed. She recognized the voice. The Avatar was dead, and Riko knew Asami wouldn't be able to handle it. "KORRA!"_

* * *

The whole family went quiet. Riko carefully approached the two steaming waterbenders. "Um, I don't mean to interrupt this _wonderful_ reunion, but we need to get out of the public's eye."

Nami scowled. "Fine. Get in. We can talk in private."

The waterbenders hopped into Nami's car. Kohaku jumped up and ran after them. "Wait! You're my ride back!" He rushed into the car before they drove off.

Karina leaned over to her wife. "Don't you think you should go with them?"

Riko chuckled. "Nah, they'll settle it themselves just like last time. I'll check on them later. We need to leave now, though."

The family then hopped into Riko's car and returned home.

Flashes of lights and snaps of cameras erupted when they pulled to the coffee shop. Riko groaned as she shut the car off.

"Make a run for it?" Karina joked.

Riko shrugged. "They'll cool down once the dust settles."

They then threw open the car doors and dashed inside. Karina slid to Riko's side once they made it to the staircase. "You know that's not true."

Riko sighed and hung her head. "I know, but don't tell them that." They made it up to their cozy apartment and began helping them unpack. "So how was the South Pole?" Riko asked.

Olivia sighed. "It was a nice break. After the initial shock of the attack wore off, we actually were able relax some."

Riko frowned. "I'm really sorry about that by the way. The Chief of the South is keeping me updated with the interrogations. We'll figure out what he wanted."

Karina had stopped moving when a thought hit her. "He knew Tadashi was the Avatar."

Riko stopped rummaging through the luggage and looked at her wife. "What're you talking about?"

"He said something about Tadashi being good for such a young Avatar. He knew! Ugh, I was just so mad I didn't realize it until now!" Karina yelled, running her hands through her hair. "He _was_ after Tadashi!"

Riko laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay dear. The world already knows about Tadashi now. *Sigh* I need to get the Chief on the phone."

Olivia chuckled. "It's funny hearing you say that. That's what we always call you."

Riko smiled tiredly. "Well, you might not call me that for very much longer. I'm going to check on the Nami and Hikari and then I'm headed to work. I'll see you tonight, Karina."

Both Olivia and Karina froze in shock. The younger earthbender looked to her mother. "Did she just…?"

"Say that we might not call her Chief anymore? Yeah, I heard it…" Karina sighed. "I'll ask her about it later, but this is the first time I'm hearing anything about retiring."

Olivia frowned, but continued unpacking with her son.

* * *

"I hate you!"

"We don't really talk that much to really say such things do we?"

"You're supposed to be my mom! What happened to that?!"

Kohaku was starting to sweat nervously when Riko finally walked in the office. "It's about time you got here! They've been at it nonstop! I can't jump in without getting my head chopped off!"

"Chill, bro. I'll see what I can do, but you know how they get."

"I'm a busy person, Hikari! I can't just hop on a boat and stay in the South!"

"Why not?! I heard the old CEO did it all of the time!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Riko yelled as she stepped up. The two waterbenders huffed and crossed their arms. Riko gulped and stepped in between them. "I know things didn't end well the last time you two saw each other, but I think it's time we worked that out."

"Why is she here anyway?" Nami asked.

Hikari looked over Riko's shoulder. "If you kept up with the family you would know why I'm here!"

Riko sighed and rested a hand to her forehead. "Nami, Hikari came to Republic City to help us solve this case involving the ship attack. But it would be awfully nice if you two could reconnect while she's here. Ya know, put this whole thing behind us."

Nami rose a brow. "She's the one who keeps bringing it up."

"Because it bothers me that I don't see you anymore, _mom_! You raised me with dad in the South for years. Then one day you just left us!"

"I had an obligation to take care of the family company."

Hikari's face scrunched up. "Yeah right! I know Grandma Asami passed on around that time, but you were already trying to leave dad before that!"

"Your father and I didn't work out! You were 15 when Asami passed on. You were old enough to be aware of what was happening."

Riko watched carefully from in between them. "It seems you both are bitter about the same thing. That should make you both more understanding towards each other."

Hikari scoffed. "Aunt Riko, I think this is something mother and I need to work out."

Riko laughed sarcastically. "Yeah okay, the last time I did that you both nearly destroyed the mansion! I'm not leaving until this is solved."

Nami decided now to speak up again. "If you want to see me more, you can always make a trip to Republic City. You have more free time to sail than I do."

"No I don't, mother. Dad is teaching me how to lead the tribe. You do remember I'm next in line to the throne, right?"

Nami rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be princess. I was next in line to Korra's throne, but I was also the only one who could take over Asami's work."

Hikari grit her teeth. "You were the only one for both jobs."

Nami's stare steeled. "Yes I was and I made a conscious decision to stay in Republic City. I only married so that I could choose who I wanted to lead the tribe."

Hikari's eyes were starting to water. "Do you even love me? Or is everything about tying loose ends?"

Nami looked like she had just been punched in the gut. "H-Hikari, of course I love you. I'm so proud of you for leading the tribe! I knew I would never be able to do it. I'm not even from the South, you know that."

Tears finally fell from Hikari's eyes. "I think I need a break from talking. I'm gonna head back to my hotel."

Nami frowned. "Of course, dear. We'll talk again later."

And with that, Hikari walked out of the office. Riko and Kohaku carefully approached their sister. "I think you finally got some much needed words out today, for both of you." Riko commented.

Nami ran a hand through her hair. In an instant Riko saw a spitting image of their mother. She closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I think we did… Um, I need to go head to the factory now. Will you two find the way out on your own?"

Riko opened her eyes. "Yeah, we'll be fine sis. Go do your work stuff. I'll drop Kohaku off."

Nami smiled sadly. "Thanks."

* * *

Tadashi was hiding behind a tree on the playground, trying to avoid his classmates. Ever since he returned to school yesterday, his peers kept asking him questions. He couldn't really blame them though, it has been awhile since there was a kid Avatar.

"Hey!"

"Gah!"

Tadashi fell to the ground in surprise. He turned over and saw one of his so-called friends standing above him with a smile. She was taller than him and had two brown pigtails, but she was two years older than him. "Abby! You scared me!"

"I know!" She laughed. "It was pretty funny. You've been avoiding everyone lately, but you can't get rid of me that easily!"

Tadashi stood up and dusted himself off. "How'd you find me? And where's your brother? He's in my year so he should be out here."

"Tch!" Abigail turned and crossed her arms. "You two never let me play with you! It's not fair. But he's waiting over there."

Abigail turned and waved to the swings. A small boy with shaggy brown hair stood leaning on the steel pole of the swing-set. He saw them and began walking over nonchalantly with his arms behind his head. "Hey Tadashi, we missed you all week. Where've you been?"

Tadashi smiled. "Hi Leroy. Grandma Riko sent us to the South Pole to keep us safe."

Tadashi spent the rest of recess talking about the trip.

"Wowww…" The siblings said in unison. Suddenly the bell was rung for students to return to class.

Then Abigail smirked and punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"I knew there was something special about you kid! Who knew you'd be the Avatar, though?"

Leroy agreed. "Yeah, especially since Avatar Korra is your great-grandma."

Tadashi hung his head. "Yeah…"

Abigail noticed and blinked. She slowly smiled and leaned over to the young Avatar. "Hey, watch this."

She slowly inched up to her brother who was walking in front of them. She stuck her tongue out as she moved her index finger closer to the end of his hair. Then a small but bright flame erupted from her finger. She extinguished it as quickly as it happened.

"Gah! Abby! Again?!" The boy yelled and quickly patted his neck.

"Well maybe you should learn to cut your hair!" She yelled back, but smiled down at Tadashi. He blushed and turned away, laughing with them.

* * *

Riko sighed at the phone. She slouched in her chair and ran a hand over her face. The Southern Water Tribe Chief wasn't able to get any information out of the attacker. He was set on protecting his boss. The only information they did get was from his boat ticket. It came from the Republic City docks.

Riko sat up and rummaged through some papers. Her eyes started getting heavy and she looked outside to see that it was completely dark out. Her chair screeched against the hard floor as she stood up. Just then someone opened her office door. She looked up and rose a brow.

Karina smiled down at her. "I came to drag you home. Sometimes you need a little push out of that chair."

Riko smiled and shook her head good-naturedly. "Thanks, dear. Let's go home."


	9. Chapter 9

_Suddenly someone skidded to her side and began to heal her. "Riko!" Riko managed to squint her eyes open to see her loving wife. She tried to say something to her, but ended up in a coughing fit. "Shh, don't talk! Just sit still!" Riko decided to take this moment to really look at her wife and noticed her shirt was covered in blood. She gave her a questioning look and Karina glanced back to the Avatar before looking down and shaking her head. "I'm not losing you too." Karina emotionally whispered out, tears streaming down her cheeks. She touched the icicle in her leg which made Riko wince. Karina decided to make that wait so she wouldn't bleed out. She continued to heal her, but then Riko began to slip away again. Karina hastily slapped her on the cheek, but she was unresponsive. Panic rose in Karina's chest. "I NEED A BUS OVER HERE!"_

* * *

Tadashi boringly went through the motions of airbending. Today Master Rohan was guiding the airbenders' practice. The man was a quiet, gentle soul, but that made practice boring sometimes. A small gust ruffled his hair and he looked over and saw Sachi smirking next to him. He chuckled and they continued the motions.

Next was group meditation. One by one the young airbenders sat down and got in position. Sachi bumped shoulders with him jokingly before they fell in line. Tadashi took a deep breath and put his fists together.

He blinked his eyes opened and realized he wasn't in the human world anymore. He gulped and looked around. This wasn't the Spirit World either. Where was he? He was still in position, but sitting seemingly in space that was covered in purple and green.

Suddenly he felt a strong presence across from him and quickly looked back. He gasped and felt like he couldn't get air back in him. There's no way he was seeing this…

His predecessor smiled brightly at him. She sat in the same position as him. Her elbow sat on her knee and she was leaning her head in her palm. She looked just like how the family album pictured her. Her brown hair was short and choppy and just reached her neck. Her blue arm sleeves covered just below her shoulders and reached all the way to her knuckles. A fur pelt was around her waist. Some bead ornaments appeared here and there. It was just as he always pictured her, even though they never had a chance to meet in the human world.

They sat quietly together, simply staring at each other. He was feeling quite shocked while she seemed pretty calm. She watched him closely, gauging his reaction.

He gulped and then tried speaking up. However, she immediately cut him off by raising her hand to him. He got the message and didn't speak up again after that. He had so many questions for her, but didn't know where to start.

Suddenly she smiled her signature smile and stood. He felt himself being pulled away by an invisible force. He wanted to shout, to ask her questions, but it was over.

* * *

"He still hasn't come out of it?" A random airbending student asked.

Sachi frowned. "No, he's been here since we started mediation, even after Master Rohan dismissed us. Something's wrong."

The kid rose a brow. "Well he is the Avatar. Maybe it's some Avatar thingy."

Rohan went wide-eyed and grabbed the kid's robes. "Find Master Jinora or Master Rohan! Whoever you can find first! Go!"

The kid, startled, ran off looking for the masters. Sachi turned back to his best friend and scowled. "You better be doing something Avatar-y. Because you're starting to scare me."

...

"C'mon Mr. Sato, time to wake up!"

Tadashi heard the voice, but didn't wake up until cold water was dropped on him. "Gah!" He jumped up and looked around him. Master Jinora and Master Rohan stood over him, along with several airbenders watching in the distance. Suddenly Sachi jumped into his vision.

"Dude, what happened?! It's like you disappeared!"

Jinora chuckled and laid a hand on her grandson's shoulder. "Quiet Sachi. I'm sure the Avatar needs some space after what he just experienced."

Tadashi was gasping for air and looking at them dubiously. Then he remembered what happened and immediately hopped back into position, hoping to get back to that other world.

Jinora frowned and sighed. "I'm sorry Tadashi, but you won't find her just like that."

Tadashi looked up at her expectantly. Jinora shook her head. "She will show herself when she feels like she needs to. Don't worry, you'll see her again."

"See who?" Sachi asked unknowingly.

Jinora looked to Tadashi for an answer, but it appeared he was still in shock as he gasped for air and had wide eyes. "You saw Avatar Korra, didn't you?"

It took a minute, but eventually he nodded yes.

* * *

"Tadashi?" The boy looked back at his mother who had yelled after him. "You forgot your lunch."

He nodded and took the bag from his mother. She watched worriedly as he quietly left with the White Lotus guard to walk to school. He hadn't said a word since airbending practice the previous day and she had no idea why.

"Tadashi! Tadashi! Tadashi!" Abigail sang, poking the boy in the back. He rolled his eyes and kept walking through the hallway.

"C'mon, Abby, leave him alone. He looks like he had a long night."

Tadashi glanced back at him with a raised brow. They paid no mind to it and kept walking to class.

"Fine, I'll leave him be for now, but at recess you're gonna talk."

"Okay, sis, just let us go to class now!" Leroy yelled and pushed the Avatar in their classroom. "Sorry about that. Mom gave her sugar yesterday. It's still running its course." He rose a brow when Tadashi never replied. "Tadashi? Are you okay?" Tadashi nodded and sat in his seat. Leroy sighed and sat down next to him. The teacher turned to the class after writing some things down on the chalkboard and class started.

"Okay, spill it. What happened?" Abigail demanded at the tree at recess. Tadashi sighed and slid down the tree.

"Maybe he's just tired." Leroy suggested.

Tadashi crossed his arms and leaned his head back. Leroy shrugged his shoulders with his hands raised when his sister looked to him for an answer.

"Tadashi, c'mon, talk to us man! We're your best friends. You can tell us."

Tadashi spaced out for a minute but afterwards he quickly jumped into the meditation pose. His friends stepped back in surprise, then watched in wonder at whatever he was doing. After a few minutes of him just sitting completely still, his arms started shaking and he jumped to his feet. "Gah! Why can't I do it again?!"

The two siblings glanced at each other questionably, then Abigail stepped closer to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "What're you trying to do?"

"I-I-I… I saw Avatar Korra while meditating yesterday, but I can't get back to her…"

Abigail frowned and looked to her brother. He was frowning too. She looked back to the young Avatar. "It's okay, Tadashi. You'll figure it out. You always do, you're one of the smartest kids I know."

Tadashi hung his head and grabbed her hand off of his shoulder. "Thanks Abby."

The girl blushed and quickly pulled her hand out of his grasp. "A-Anytime, kid!"

* * *

Tadashi drowned out the city noise as he walked down the street with his bodyguard. Abby was humming behind him and Leroy was dragging his feet next to him. "You know maybe this whole bodyguard thing isn't so bad, Tadashi. You don't have to worry about bullies at least." Abby commented from behind.

Tadashi glanced back a brow raised and chuckled. "I can handle myself. I don't need protection."

Leroy bumped his shoulder. "Yeah, but wasn't the White Lotus formed to protect and aid the Avatar?"

Tadashi pouted. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, but nothing ever happens so it's kinda pointless."

Just then a single man in a trench coat headed their way. The White Lotus guard made them stop to let the man pass them without any trouble. The kids watched anxiously as the hooded man passed them. He passed by with no problem and the guard said for them to continue walking. Tadashi watched as the man walked away before turning to join his friends.

Suddenly, the Avatar felt the tiniest of vibrations through his feet. He hurriedly looked back and saw a slab of earth flying towards them. In quick thinking, he got in position and raised his own earth wall. He tensed his fists and maintained the wall as the slab hit it. The ground rocked and his friends stumbled. The bodyguard jumped over the wall and shot fire at the man. The two went at it for a minute before the enemy knocked out the White Lotus envoy.

Tadashi growled and helped his friends up. "Time to put our training to the test!"

After the initial shock, Abby smirked and formed fire in her hands. Leroy nervously pulled out his wooden sword from his back. "Aww, why's it gotta be a bender?!"

"Get used to it brother!" Abby yelled.

Leroy felt his eyebrow twitch. "I've been getting used to it for ten years with you!" He sighed in frustration when his sister ran ahead.

Tadashi slammed his feet into the sidewalk and brought forth solid ground. Abby shot a few fire bolts at the man to distract him. The man was temporarily blinded by the flames. Tadashi smirked and shot a dozen small rocks at him. He yelled out and stumbled. He felt something at his feet, causing him to fall completely. Leroy smiled as the man toppled over him. He jumped up, roaring out a battle cry, swinging his sword around. He leap at the man and hit him over the head with his sword. A loud _thwack!_ was heard. "Ow!"

Leroy smirked in victory, but then the enemy threw him off of him. Abby caught him and set him on his feet again. "Hey! No one messes with my brother!"

Tadashi was way ahead of her though. He kicked boulders at the man as he began standing up. The man noticed and back flipped to dodge them. Tadashi growled and they traded earth for a few minutes. Abby and Leroy watched in amazement at how Tadashi was able to keep the man at bay. However, he didn't have as much stamina as the older earthbender. A rock slipped through his defenses and hit him in the head. "Gah!"

"Tadashi!" The siblings yelled. Abby left her brother to run to their friend's side. She kneeled down next to him and gasped when she saw blood slipping down his forehead. They could faintly hear police sirens approaching.

"Heh, I heard the Avatar was better than this. He was able to take down our agent on the ship." The spy said.

Tadashi growled at him and stood up. "Who are you?! What do you want with us?!"

The man chuckled. "It's more about you, young Avatar."

Tadashi gasped and his eyes went wide. His hands started shaking. Abigail growled and marched up to the man. "Who do you think you are?! You can't just go around attacking kids!"

The enemy just chuckled again. "Young lady, this does not involve you, so I advise you to step back. It is just the Avatar I have business with."

Her eyes darkened with rage. "I don't think so."

At such close proximity, a fireball burned into his stomach. "Gah! You brat!" The man keeled over, holding his stomach.

Abigail, almost surprised by her own attack, grabbed both boys and started running away. "Abby! You injured him!" Leroy yelled.

"Yeah, but I don't think it'll hold him off for long."

Just then a yell erupted from the enemy. He stumbled to his feet and started chasing them. Abigail looked back and gulped as he started getting into earthbending position again. Tadashi felt the air shift and looked back too. He pulled out of Abby's grip and got into his own earthbending stance. Simultaneously, both earthbenders fired at each other.

...

There was a loud ringing in his ears when he came to. Someone was saying his name, but it sounded like he was underwater. Everything was a blurry slow-motion when he opened his eyes. He saw who he recognized as Abby leaning over him. That must've been who was calling his name. He slowly blinked and looked around. The metalbending police had arrived and were in the process of arresting the enemy earthbender.

The ringing slowly faded as he sat up and his vision cleared. "Abby?"

"Tadashi! Are you okay?!" Abby asked worriedly.

He groaned and felt his head. A sticky substance was slipping down the side of his head. He pulled his hand away and saw red. "Oh, great, I'm bleeding."

"Yeah you need to get evaluated!"

He looked around for the enemy and gulped when he saw the Chief stomping away from the criminal. She let her officers deal with him while she rushed to her grandson's side. He winced when she slid to his side.

"Tadashi! How're you feeling?"

"Chief, I'm fine. It's just a scratch." He replied.

Riko scoffed and fetched a handkerchief from her back pocket and pressed it to his temple. "That's more than just a scratch, sweetie. I'm taking you to the hospital. C'mon."

"Grandmaaaa!"

"No arguing, Avatar. Let's go!"

"Wait! Can we come?" Abby yelled after them.

Riko was about to decline, but her grandson beat her to it. "Yeah, c'mon. You might be hurt too."

The two Sato's glanced at each other. Riko sighed in understanding. "Alright, c'mon kids."

* * *

 **A/N: Yes I know the White Lotus was not formed to protect the Avatar in fact. But just figured that they're kids still and don't know everything about the world. It would be easy for them to assume since the White Lotus acted as guards for Korra and now Tadashi.**


	10. Chapter 10

_The first thing Riko heard was a machine beeping steadily and distant sobbing in the background. "Who's gonna tell her when she wakes up?" "She might already have figured that out…"_

 _Her breathing picked up, but she forced herself to keep her eyes close. She wanted it all to be a dream. "I think she's awake." She heard her brother state nearby._

 _Nami looked over and saw a pained expression on her face. She carefully walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "Riko? Can you hear me?" Riko decided to finally face reality and tried to sit up, but pain erupted throughout her body. She groaned loudly. Nami gasped and yelled at Kohaku to get help. "Riko, you're okay. You're in the hospital! Just stay calm."_

 _Riko finally opened her eyes, but her vision was blurry. She could faintly see her sister leaning over her. She looked down and saw the outline of an arm sling. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth. "Please tell me it was all a dream…"_

 _Nami frowned and hung her head. No. No! Korra couldn't be dead! Riko suddenly sat straight up, ignoring all of the pain. "No!" She ripped the IV out of her arm and threw her legs over the side of the bed to stand up. Nami was yelling at her the whole time to lay back down. "It can't be real!" Riko yelled back, grasping her head. She tried to stand up, but her injured leg gave out from under her. Luckily someone caught her._

 _"_ _Sweetie you need to get back in bed."_

 _Riko recognized that voice. Flashes of her bloodied wife trying to heal her appeared in her head. Tears suddenly slid down her cheeks. "No," she cried. She slumped to the ground and Karina followed her. "She can't be gone."_

 _Karina said no more and simply held her close._

* * *

"He may have a slight concussion but it's nothing serious. He should be fine, Chief Sato." The doctor who inspected the Avatar deducted.

Riko sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. What about the others?"

"A nurse looked them over and neither of them sustained any injuries."

"Good. That's one less thing I don't have to worry about. Thanks doc."

"My pleasure, Chief. You can go see them now."

Riko rushed into the room and saw Tadashi sitting upright on the bed and the siblings laying on the couch. She pinched the bridge of her nose before approaching them. "How do you all feel?"

The kids perked up at the sound of her voice. "We're all fine, Grandma. The guy wasn't that good of a fighter."

Abby rose a brow at this statement. "Tadashi, what're you talking about? He knocked out the White Lotus guard. We're only safe because of you."

Riko eyed her grandson. The boy was acting like this wasn't a big deal. Well, he had dealt with another attack just the week before. Maybe it was already a normal thing to him. Riko grit her teeth. No, this was not happening to Tadashi. Korra went through enough hell for the next 100 Avatars in line.

"I'm proud of you for protecting your friends, Tadashi. I'm impressed you were able to fend him off until we arrived." The Chief commented.

Tadashi smiled at her. "Don't forget who taught me everything I know."

Riko smirked and hugged the boy tight. "I was so scared when I got the call on the radio."

Tadashi patted her back. "We're okay, Chief. But we wouldn't have been able to hold him off much longer."

Riko flicked his chin. "Well then it's a good thing I got there when I did."

"Where is he?!"

Riko frowned and turned to the door. "Sato! Who else?!" "Sorry, she's with me." Riko sighed and rubbed her neck. She was about to be in the doghouse again.

Olivia ran in followed by Karina. "Tadashi! You're okay!"

Tadashi groaned as his mother tackled him in a hug. "Yeah, I'm okay mom. It wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad?! You've got bandages all around your head! Mom, how did this happen?!"

Riko nervously rubbed her neck. "How am I supposed to know? I was just as shocked when the call came in!"

Karina sighed and stepped in between them. "We aren't really gonna know the whole story until you interrogate the perpetrator. And if it's anyway related to the ship attack, he won't talk."

Riko steadied her eye contact. "I'll get him to talk, one way or the other. This won't go down like the ship attack."

Karina returned the stare. "You better."

Just then they heard another ruckus in the hallway. Something about looking for their children. Riko blinked and looked back to the siblings on the couch. "Oh shoot, hold on. I'll be right back."

She ran out and found the parents. They could hear their anger about their children being caught up in the attack. Suddenly they ran into the room. "Abigail! Leroy! Oh thank the spirits you're safe!" The mother cried. She quickly kneeled down and hugged both of them.

"We're fine, mom. Tadashi kept us safe. It was amazing." Abigail said in awe still.

Their father angrily eyed the Avatar. Riko noticed and stepped in between them. "If you have something to say, I suggest you spit it out."

"Our children will no longer be associating with the likes of the Avatar. It's too dangerous."

"Dad!" "No! He's our friend!"

"It's final! We're leaving, now!"

Abigail starting crying and ran out of the room. Tadashi watched sadly and tried to go after her, but Riko stopped him. She and their father had a short stare-off before the rest of their family followed their daughter.

"No! He can't do this, Chief! They're my only friends!" Tadashi yelled.

Riko sighed and helped him sit down. "I'm sorry, badgermole. But I can't control how he treats his family and he has every right to stop them from seeing you."

Tears started appearing in his vision. "It's not fair!" Before his family could say anymore, he ran out of the room.

...

Riko smiled sadly when she found the young Avatar. He heard her coming and quickly rubbed his tears away and sniffled. "How'd you find me?"

"Do you forget who taught you how to sense?" Riko replied. The boy blinked and hung his head. "But that's not how I found you. This is where I ran to when I was stuck in this same hospital. It has a nice view of the city, doesn't it?"

Tadashi slowly raised his head and rested it on his knee. "It is a nice view."

Riko smiled and sat down next to him. "This city is your home, but when the time comes, you will be asked to protect the whole world."

Tadashi frowned. "I've never even traveled around the world other than the South Pole a few times. How can I protect a world I know nothing about?"

Riko frowned when it came upon her that he was right and she had no idea how to answer him. They sat quietly watching the Sun set from the window for some time. She sighed after a few minutes. "C'mon, your mother is probably freaking out still."

Tadashi giggled and slid off of the ledge. Riko glanced down at him. Suddenly she smiled and pulled him in closer by the shoulder. Tadashi laughed and leaned into her as they walked.

* * *

"Start talking." Riko commanded. The man in her interrogation room just smirked quietly. Riko growled. "Why did you attack the Avatar?"

The man chuckled. "I could tell you any reason why I attacked him and you wouldn't know if it was the truth. Many people still don't like the Avatar."

Riko chuckled humorlessly. "Well I find it kind of coincidental that a man much like yourself attacked him about two weeks ago on a ship headed to the South Pole. Care to explain that?"

The man shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Riko scowled. "Bullshit. You're working for someone. Tell me who it is."

"I have nothing to tell you. I acted on my own."

Riko slammed her hands on the table. "Who is it?!"

The man simply smiled and kept his mouth shut. Riko growled and grabbed him out of his seat. "Tell me! Who is it and why?!"

"Brute force may have gotten you far in life, but it will not get me to talk. Good luck, Chief Sato."

Riko angrily stared at the man before dropping him back in his seat. She breathed in and out before cautiously walking out of the interrogation room. Karina blinked from the other side of the glass window. She approached the Chief as she shut the door. "Riko, what're you doing?"

The earthbender sighed. "Just leave him sitting there for a few hours until I come back. Maybe then he'll talk. I need a break anyway."

Karina worriedly grabbed her hand as she started walking towards her office. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Riko rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just don't have as much energy to interrogate perps like I used to."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Remember the Southern Chief is interrogating the other attacker and you know how rough they interrogate criminals." Karina said, trying to comfort her.

Riko blinked. "That's right. I need to call him!"

Karina sighed as Riko dashed into her office. She slowly followed her in and saw the Chief already on the phone. They looked up at each other and Riko held up a hand. "Yes, this is Police Chief Riko Sato from Republic City. Is the Southern Water Tribe Chief available? Yes, I'll hold." Riko sighed as she sat down in her seat. Karina watched patiently with her arms crossed. "Yes, I'm here… Okay, thank you." She finally hung up the phone.

"So?" Karina asked.

Riko ran a hand over her face. "The Chief is busy interrogating him again but he still hasn't gotten anything out of him."

"Did you expect him to after all this time?"

"Well, yeah kind of. They've been going at him for almost two weeks now."

"I don't think he's gonna talk at this point. We're just going to have to put the heat on this guy we got here."

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Riko mindlessly shuffled through some papers. Karina crossed her arms while she sat in the cushioned seat across from her wife. She noticed Riko began to doze off when her head started falling. Karina sighed and roughly pulled her out of her seat.

"Huh? What're you doing?"

"You need an energy boost. I know you won't eat unless I make you at this point."

* * *

Riko sighed as the hot drink slid down her throat. Karina watched happily across from her sipping her own drink. "I told you, you needed this."

Riko didn't bother replying except for taking another sip. After a few minutes a waiter brought out their lunch to their table. The couple quietly ate in the small café just down the street from the station until Karina spoke up. "You need to take a real break soon."

Riko sighed and set her fork down. "I know sweetie, but I can't right now with everything going on."

"Just one day. That's all I'm asking for. You trained your officers well if something comes up."

"But it takes just once for Tadashi to get hurt again."

Karina sighed. "Okay, I understand. But as soon as it settles down I'm asking you to just take one day off."

Riko smiled sadly and shook her head. "You know I can't make that promise."

Karina huffed and looked away from her. She blinked when she saw a suitcase sitting by itself under a table in the corner. She looked up at Riko, who saw the look and instantly glanced around the café. They waited a few minutes, but no one returned to retrieve such bag. Riko gulped and stood up.

"I need everyone to leave now! It's not safe here!" Riko announced as she walked over to the abandoned table. Some people watched in confusion, while others, knowing her status of Chief, immediately listened and left. Karina went from table to table trying to convince the bystanders to leave. Riko hesitantly kneeled down and clicked open the case. She gasped when she saw a timer which would go off any second now. "It's a bomb!"

Anyone left quickly ran away. She earthbended a wall around the case and another wall between them and the bomb. Karina waited anxiously at the exit while Riko ran back to her. The Chief was about to yell at her to run, but then the bomb went off.


	11. Chapter 11

_Riko finally crawled back into bed with Karina's help and that's when she noticed that the sobbing in the room had increased. She glanced over and gasped. Even with her hazy vision, she recognized the swirling black hair, pale skin, and (runny) makeup. "Mom…" Riko whispered out. Asami finally looked up at her, but hung her head as more tears fell._

 _Riko hung her head in shame. Asami probably hated her now since she let Korra die. Riko tried to control her breathing so she wouldn't break down right there. Suddenly someone embraced her tightly. Riko glanced up again. Asami was hugging her tightly, almost as if life itself depended on it. "I-I thought I lost you too!" Asami continued to sob in between her words. "Thank the spirits you're safe!"_

 _Tears began reappearing in her vision again. "Mom…" Asami sat down on the bed with her and hugged her closer. Riko felt her lip tremble and squeezed her eyes to try to stop it. Asami patted her head as she began crying again. "I'm so sorry! I should've been able to stop it! I'm a failure!"_

 _Asami quickly tipped her chin to shut her mouth. "I won't let you bash yourself like that so don't start." Riko shook and silently obeyed her mother._

* * *

As the dust settled, Riko quickly looked around for her wife. "Karina?!"

"I'm okay!" She coughed out. "Where are you?"

Riko felt the ground with her hand and made her way through the debris to the door. Karina was waving her hand in the air to dispel the dust. The waterbender gasped and ran to her when she appeared. "Are you okay?!"

She tried to chuckle but bit her lip in pain. "I'm fine, just a few scrapes and bruises."

Karina started examining her in worry and she saw that part of her metal uniform had been ripped open by the flying debris. "Riko, you're hurt."

Riko gently ushered her away. "I'm fine. Take care of any injured." She felt something through the ground and hastily looked around. She saw a single man pull up his hood and start walking away from the scene. "Take care of things here! I'm going after him!"

Karina yelled after her but there was no stopping her. She huffed and began checking the scene for anyone caught up in the blast.

* * *

Kohaku fumbled with some orphanage forms while his sister started arguing with her daughter again. Nami huffed and sat down at her desk, pretending to be busy with paperwork. Hikari continued to yell angrily at her mother. This was the fourth time since the princess had arrived that they had fought. He was surprised they hadn't actually started waterbending at each other yet. The firebender sighed and reached over to turn on the radio to drown out their arguing. He listened to a random daytime show for a few minutes while he scribbled something on a set of papers when the radio suddenly spazzed into static. He glanced up in confusion. Then a reporter's voice jumped through the speakers with 'breaking news'. Kohaku's eyes slowly widened as he listened. The waterbenders didn't seem to notice so he yelled at them to shut up. They looked at him in irritation before the breaking news caught their attention. Before even listening to all of the details, Nami grabbed her car keys and marched out of the office. The other two quickly raced after her to join her.

* * *

Riko dashed through the alley. She came out on the other end and saw someone pushing through a nearby crowd. She growled as she followed him. As she passed through the end of the crowd, the man stood a few yards away in a fighting position. She gasped and quickly bent a wall in front of her to protect the civilians. Raging fire burnt the wall, but she kept it together. As the man finished his attack and started running away again, Riko hurried around the wall and threw rocks in his direction. One hit him in the leg, tossing him to the ground. The Chief aimed a dropkick at him but he rolled away just in time into the road. Cars screeched to a stop and honked their horns as the fight moved into the intersection.

The two traded elements for a few minutes. Riko obviously had the advantage, but old habits can be hard to kill. As a fireball headed straight for her, her mind flashed back to her teenage years when her fear of fire was still prominent. She shook out it just in time to dodge and roll to the side. On one knee, she shot a boulder at her opponent. She stood up and continued to put the pressure on him.

However, she was not as young as she used to be and this man had a stockpile of energy left. Riko jumped away from a blast and stood there momentarily to catch her breath. But then the firebender jumped through the flames and tried hitting her with fire daggers. Immediately she started dodging, going on the defensive. They zigged and zagged, him trying to burn her and her just dodging in time. He hit her in the arm but her metal armor protected her. However, it still transferred the heat to her skin. She grit her teeth as the heat started burning the hell out of her arm. The man noticed the pain on her face and figured out that he had actually hurt her and continued striking her. A few more strikes to her armor and Riko was burning up.

Suddenly she saw a break in his stance and quickly raised her palm, raising the ground simultaneously to hit him square in the gut. He stumbled away and grabbed his stomach, trying to catch his breath. Riko was also gasping for air. She carefully pulled out handcuffs from her back pocket and approached the firebender. "You're *gasp* under arrest…for the destruction-"

All of a sudden, the man twirled around and rocketed a fireball at her. She didn't have time to react. She gasped as her skin heated up to abnormal rates and fell back onto the concrete road. She hissed as her brain recognized the pain. She felt a raging fire against her side and remembered that some her armor had been torn off in the bomb blast. This was bad, she knew it.

The man painfully got back onto his feet and stood over her with a single fire dagger in his hand.

"Who knew taking down the Chief of Police would be this easy? We should've done this long ago. Would've solved a lot of shit." The man growled at her.

"Who…are you?" She gasped out.

The man chuckled deeply. "If somehow you survive this, I'll tell you whatever you want. But first…"

He kneeled next to her and inched the blade closer to her neck. Her breathing picked up as the heat reached her neck. This was not exactly how she imagined going. She wanted to catch Korra's killer first, but at least she wasn't drowning. She grit her teeth. There had to be a way out of this.

A horn blared behind them suddenly. The firebender looked back and quickly jumped away from the Chief. She continued to lay on the ground in pain as a car skidded to a stop in front of her, forming a barrier between her and the attacker.

Kohaku had jumped out of the car as it swerved, sending a giant fire blast at the hooded figure that stood over his sister. Nami put the car in park and dashed to her sister. Hikari jumped out too and joined her uncle in fighting the attacker.

Riko groaned as Nami started pulling off her scorched armor. "W-What're you doing here?"

Nami smiled sadly at her. "Saving your dumb ass. We heard about the bombing on the radio and raced over to help. Didn't think we'd find you getting your butt kicked."

Riko smirked. "Not as young as I used to be."

"Aren't we all?" Nami chuckled.

"Get on the ground, you bastard!" Kohaku yelled in the distance. The sisters chuckled as their brother struggled to get the cuffs on the bomber. Sirens could be heard in all directions. The café was probably only three blocks away. Police trucks and ambulances raced to the scene of the bombing. Karina then led a group of them to Riko and the scene there.

A few officers hauled the firebender up and threw him in the back of a squad car. EMT's lifted Riko onto a cot and carried her to the ambulance. The Chief struggled to sit up, even with the medics telling her to lay down.

"I don't need to go to the hospital! I'm fine! Just need some rest…"

"I'm sorry Chief, but you have some serious burns. You need medical attention ASAP."

Riko and the medics continued arguing about going to the hospital until a certain waterbender appeared at the back doors that were still open.

"You. Are. An. Idiot…"

Riko looked up and gulped. "It's not that bad, I swear."

Karina quickly cut her off. "No! Do you know how worried I was just after the bombing alone?! Then you manage to get out mostly uninjured only to run after the fucking bomber and get the crap beaten out of you! I'm so tired of it!"

Riko pushed the medic away and sat up, ignoring the pain in her abdomen. "You're tired of it?! You're acting like this is a normal thing! There aren't normally potential bombs in the city! There aren't benders waiting around every corner to attack my family! I'm doing what I have to right now!"

Karina's eyes widened and she began taking in her wife's condition. Riko was gasping for air and sweating from the (literal) fire fight she just had. The armor on her upper half had been removed, revealing pink skin that had been burned. Part of her tank top had been burned away in the same spot that her armor had been chipped away. There sat a much darker burn that she knew had to make breathing painful.

Riko watched in confusion when Karina suddenly hopped in the ambulance and shut the back doors, pounding on the door twice. The engine started and they started driving away from the scene.

"Wha? No, Karina! I have to help investigate what happened! I'm fine!" She roared out in anger.

Karina pushed her down by her shoulders. "Sweetie, you know I know medicine and healing, and I'm telling you this is bad. You need help _now_. We don't have time to waste."

Riko gulped and decided that maybe her wife was right. She leaned back and sighed. "I know, but I don't want the enemy to think I'm weak. They can't know how bad I'm injured."

Karina scowled at her sadly as she understood. "It's okay, dear. We won't let the press get ahold of this if that's what you're worried about." The waterbender then tapped the glass separating them from the driver. "Take the hidden route to the ER. I don't want this getting out to anyone."

"Roger that." The driver responded, changing course.

* * *

Breathing was becoming a difficult task for the Chief of Police. Specially selected nurses ran frantic yet knowingly around her. Her tank top had been discarded since it was basically destroyed. Two nurses paced around the room getting her vitals and such. Karina was leaning over her and evaluating her injuries. She started poked the burns on her arms and chest. "Does that hurt?"

Riko winced. "Yeah, but not that bad."

Karina was unconvinced. "What pain level would you rate it?"

Riko twisted her head side to side, trying to ignore the pain. "Um, 3?"

Karina blinked. That wasn't bad then. She then glanced down to the severe burn on her ribcage. She poked that and didn't have to wait for an answer because Riko arched her back in pain. She quickly reached for her wife's wrist even though she had already pulled away. "Gah! Yeah that's like a 9!" Riko groaned.

The waterbender frowned. "This is bad."

"You think?" Riko commented.

Karina scoffed at her and started talking to the nurses what sounded like nonsense to Riko; a bunch of medical terms she didn't recognize. Then her wife returned to her side. "Riko, sweetie, how are you holding up?"

"I'm doing alright. What's the prognosis?" Riko replied tiredly.

"Most of your burns are superficial. The ones on your arms and chest are first-degree burns that shouldn't need too much treatment. But this one here on your side," She paused to hover her hand over it. "It's a very severe second-degree burn. If we don't act now it could get infected."

The words swam around Riko's head. She nodded unknowingly. "Okay, so what now?"

"We gonna have to put you under so we can clean you up and treat this. It'll be too painful otherwise."

Riko's head was now swimming. "I think I'm gonna pass out anyway."

Karina cautiously rested a hand on the earthbender's cheek. "Sweetie? Does it hurt that bad?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"No no, that's a good thing actually. That means it's not a third-degree burn. You would've lost all feeling in that area if that was the case."

Riko chuckled loosely. "A blessing in disguise."

Karina chuckled in agreement before rubbing her head. She nodded to a nurse who then injected a drug into her IV.

"I'm right here, sweetie. I won't leave you." Karina cooed in Riko's ear as she started nodding off.

* * *

"Riko? Can you hear me?" Someone called from a distance.

Riko moved her head around, slowly blinking her eyes open. At first the light hurt, but then she felt someone gripping her hand and she looked up for the source. She smiled idiotically when she saw her wife in her blurry vision. "Hi…"

Karina giggled. "Hi yourself. How do you feel?"

Suddenly the earthbender frowned. Karina saw her face pale and instantly reached for a nearby trash bin. Riko hauled herself over the railing of the bed and threw up.

Karina sighed as she rubbed the woman's back. "The effects of being unprepared for anesthesia…"

Riko coughed and wiped her mouth as she slumped back into the bed. Wait, bed? She looked around when her vision cleared and noticed she was in an actual hospital room.

"So now that that's over, how do you feel now?" Karina asked.

"Ugh, I've been better, but considering the circumstances I'm not too bad." Riko replied.

Karina grinned and began rubbing her head the way she liked. "Good. I'm gonna try to get you home as soon as possible so you can relax more."

Riko blinked. "Really? I thought you'd force me to stay here under a watchful eye until I'm healed."

Karina sighed. "I know that won't happen. You'll try to get out once you can move again and you'll probably get caught and then it's all over the news. We're going to avoid that by getting you to your own bed."

Riko pouted. "So I'm still going to be stuck in bed?"

"Yes, Riko. You sustained serious burns that will take time to heal. But don't worry, I'll be with you to help."

"Mrs. Karina, you have guests. Is the Chief awake?" A nurse popped her head in and asked out of nowhere.

Karina looked back and nodded happily. "Yes, she's awake. You can send them in."

Olivia then ran into the room and grabbed her mother's hand. "We were so worried about you when we heard what happened on the radio! By the time we got here you were already put under." Olivia rambled on.

Tadashi walked over to her other side and took in her state. It was a miracle she was even alive. Riko smiled at him while his mother rambled on in her state of panic.

"Olivia hun, I'm fine. Can't you see?" Riko joked.

Oliva started fuming and yelling at her, making the Chief laugh.

* * *

At first Riko hadn't minded the salve on her burns because she was high on anesthesia, but now it bothered her how it made her clothes stick to her. "You can take it off once we get home. It's only so no one recognizes you." Karina spoke as she helped her throw a baggy hoodie on. The bagginess allowed less to stick to her but it was still bothersome. Riko grumbled as she put on regular clothes again and then made her way to the exit.

A car pulled up to the hidden exit and they quickly walked to it. "Were you followed?" Riko asked impatiently once situated in the backseat.

"No. No one would recognize this car because it's mine and I don't drive it that much." Kohaku explained.

Nami straightened the rearview mirror and shifted gears. "So are we all set?"

Everyone nodded and the drive back to their apartment started.

* * *

The hooded figure smirked as he flipped through the photos of the fight with the Chief of Police just earlier that day. "Thank you for the proof, even though I hadn't asked for it, Lieutenant."

The other man's sideburns shook as he chuckled. "It was no problem. I enjoyed watching the Chief get her ass handed to her."

The leader sat the photos down and several other members of the group rushed up to look at them and gasped. "Who knew that guy could actually pull it off?" "I didn't think anyone could take her down."

The leader scoffed. "Riko can be taken down with enough skill. She is growing old. The time will come when her family won't get there in time to save her."

In the background, the radio talked about the bombing and the rising number of casualties, including Riko Sato. The man chuckled. "She's hiding how injured she is from the press. Smart, but we already know the truth."

The Lieutenant scowled. "You could've sent me. I could've easily taken her out."

The hooded man turned to him with slight anger. "No you couldn't, because even if you had succeeded you would have been arrested. Your role is too important for that to happen. I need you to keep pestering them. Get their rage to an irrational point."

The man with dark sideburns smiled. "Right. I can do that."


	12. Chapter 12

Riko peaked around the corner of their bedroom. Her wife was nowhere in sight. This was her chance. She tiptoed to the front door, but just before she touched the doorknob, a voice stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Riko gulped and squeezed her eyes shut before hesitantly turning around. "Uh, hey sweetie! I was just, uhh, getting fresh air. It's important for recovery, isn't it?"

Karina huffed and ushered her back to bed. "Don't use my words against me. If you want fresh air, go out on the balcony."

Riko dropped her shoulders and hung her head. "C'monnnn, at least let me go see how the office is doing."

"So you were sneaking out."

Riko blinked. "Nooooo…"

Karina grit her teeth. After Riko was finally fully mobile again, she'd been trying to sneak out almost nonstop. She knew the Chief would get jittery after being forced to bed rest for a week straight, but it was getting out of hand now.

"This is the third day in a row! What more do I need to do to convince you to stay in the damn apartment at least?!"

Riko sputtered out a poor response while showing her palms. "I-I… You could at least bring me some paperwork for me to do while I sit here."

"Riko, I told you I'm not letting you do anything with work until you're a lot better than where you are at now."

"But I'm just sitting here doing nothing! Give me something to occupy myself!"

"You need to rest! Work should be the last thing on your mind!"

"Not when this involves Tadashi somehow!"

The two stared off as anger seeped into both of them. Before either could react off of it, Karina brushed past the Chief and left the apartment.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Riko called after her down the street.

"To get fresh air!" Karina yelled back smartly.

Neighbors stared in confusion at the quarrel. You'd think living next to the Chief-of-Police made it safer to live there, but sometimes it was just as dangerous. Riko growled and stomped back into the building.

At first she paced in the living room for a few minutes. She wandered from room to room until she found herself in the kitchen. She thought about reaching for a bottle of alcohol, but something stopped her before she opened the fridge door. She slowly went wide-eyed at the photo that was still taped to the fridge after all of this time. She hesitantly reached out for the photo and pulled it off of the door. In the beginning, this was one of the only pictures they had taped to the fridge, but the gallery expanded as their family grew. However, this photo was special. It was a reminder.

Riko slowly drudged back to the bedroom. Pain still riddled her upper half and she cringed as she sat on the edge of the bed. She crawled under the blankets still holding the picture.

"I need to make it up to her, again."

She examined it, thinking about it, until she felt sleep creeping up on her again. She laid the photo down on the nightstand just before she passed out.

* * *

 _Karina smiled lovingly down at her girlfriend. She glanced to the window and saw that it was starting to get dark out. The Sun was at that perfect spot where it made the sky shift from orange to pink. It was her favorite time of the day; when both of them got home from work and just relaxed on the couch. She heard a snore from below and saw that Riko had finally dozed off. She really worked herself too hard. Karina worried about her sometimes._

 _Suddenly a knock came from the front door. Riko sleepily sat up and pushed herself off of the couch. "I got it."_

 _Karina giggled and shook her head. Riko had this concept in her head that she always had to be the one who answered the door, in case it was someone who wanted to hurt them. Karina argued that she could protect herself if the rare occasion occurred, but Riko was adamant about it. "Who is it, hun?"_

 _Riko stared confusingly at the man outside of their apartment. He had short gray hair and tan skin. Occasionally beads appeared on his outfit, but even his clothes appeared random, like he had collected clothes from different cultures and wore one of everything. Riko wracked her brain for any recollection of this man. Slowly it dawned on her. She had only seen one or two pictures, but Karina did have a picture of him._

 _Riko was not prepared for this moment. She jumped back and nervously offered her hand. "Hi! A-Are you…?"_

 _The man smiled. "Karina's father? Correct."_

 _Karina heard the commotion and stood up. "Sweetie, who is it? *gasp* Dad?!"_

 _Riko moved out of the way for the two to face each other. Tears appeared in the waterbender's eyes and she ran to the man. He happily opened his arms for her to hug him. Riko felt a pang in her chest and stepped away._

 _"_ _Dad! What're you doing here?!" Karina asked when she pulled away from the hug._

 _The man chuckled and patted his daughter on the shoulder. "You are very hard to find anymore. I spent months trying to figure out where you moved to after you left the South."_

 _Karina gaped. "I-I didn't know! You were always moving so I couldn't stay in touch."_

 _The old man chuckled. "It's okay, dear. That's my fault anyway." He then looked to the earthbender. "And who's this young lady?"_

 _Karina jumped as she realized she hadn't introduced them to each other. "Oh! Dad, this is Riko, my girlfriend… Riko, this is my dad."_

 _Riko gulped as the man chuckled again. "It's nice to finally meet the person who managed to pull my daughter out of the South."_

 _Riko began stuttering. "I-I'm sorry, sir!"_

 _"_ _Young lady, there is nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad my daughter finally moved on from the South!"_

 _Riko blinked. "You are? O-Oh…"_

 _"_ _I returned home to visit and the neighbors told me you left years ago! Spirits, I was shocked."_

 _Karina stepped back. "Dad, would you like to come in? I was about to start dinner. You're more than welcomed to stay."_

 _The man smiled at her. "Thank you, dear." He walked in and together the two of them wandered into the kitchen to start cooking dinner._

 _Riko cautiously sat on the couch and listened to the duo chat and laugh. For whatever reason, meeting Karina's dad made her more sad than nervous. She didn't know why. She sat there dealing with her own thoughts for a while before Karina announced the food was done. Riko blinked and looked up. The table was already set up and everything. She nervously got up and took her seat. "Sorry I didn't help more. I kinda spaced out."_

 _Karina stared at her worryingly, but then her dad spoke up. "It's okay. It's just nice to spend time with Karina again."_

 _Karina sighed and looked to her father. "So dad, what have you been up to lately? Still traveling?"_

 _He chuckled. "Yes, that's all I seem to do is travel. Not much has changed, except I'm getting older. I'm thinking about settling down for a little bit. It's been a long time since I stayed in one place."_

 _Riko listened carefully. She was aware of what he did for a living, which was nothing. Karina told her that her father was a traveling nomad and sought to learn new things constantly. He left the South after Karina's mother passed away to travel around the world. Karina hasn't seen him since before she met Riko, which was almost ten years ago!_

 _Riko began zoning out again when she heard her name being called. She looked up and saw both of them looking at her expectantly. "Oh! I'm sorry! I was spacing out again. W-what did you say?"_

 _"_ _Sweetie, are you alright?"_

 _"_ _Oh I'm sure the daughter of the Avatar is more than alright!" Karina's father hollered._

 _Riko put up a fake smile. "Y-Yeah! I just have a lot of stuff from work on my mind."_

 _"_ _What do you do for a living, Ms. Riko?"_

 _Riko breathed in and out. She had never prepared a meeting-the-father speech. "I work for the metalbending police here in Republic City, though I do more paperwork than actually chasing criminals at my rank."_

 _"_ _My, that's an impressive job! I bet you have a lot of work on your plate."_

 _"_ _I do, sir. You're daughter has to force me to leave work sometimes."_

 _The man chuckled. "That's my daughter, knowing when enough is enough, haha!"_

 _Riko glanced over to her. "She is very supportive. She's possibly the best thing to ever happen to me."_

 _The two women stared at each other before Karina scoffed. "Oh please, Korra and Asami taking you in was the best thing to ever happen to you. I might be a close second, though." They laughed as a family._

 _"_ _I guess that explains how you got this nice apartment! I'm surprised it's not bigger though, what not with your family's money and all."_

 _Riko rubbed her neck nervously. "I try not to use my mothers' wealth. I like being able to provide for myself. We only just left my parents' home and got this apartment a few months ago. I'm slowly working my way through the ranks and Karina is also in the process of becoming a healer at the hospital."_

 _"_ _That's very honorable of you, Riko. I'm proud of you both. Now, Karina, tell me more about this hospital job. This is the first time I'm hearing off it."_

 _Riko sighed as the attention was pulled away from her spent the rest of the dinner trying to keep up with the chatter. After their plates had long since been empty, Riko excused herself from the table. Karina watched her as her dad kept talking about his adventures. She glanced down at the table and realized that Riko hadn't eaten that much. She got up and interrupted her father. "I'm sorry, dad, but I need to check on Riko. She's acting kind of weird."_

 _"_ _Hmm? Oh, go right ahead hun. I'm not going anywhere."_

 _Karina thanked him and wandered through the small apartment. She passed the living room and saw a shadow on the balcony. She slid the glass panel open and stepped out. "Riko, are you okay? I know you said it was nothing, but it feels like it's more than that." She said as she hugged her girlfriend from behind. She surprisingly felt Riko tense up._

 _"_ _Yeah, I'm fine! Just work stuff-"_

 _"_ _I know you better than that. Tell me what's wrong. Is it my dad being here? I can ask him to leave. He's in town for a few days."_

 _"_ _Karina, I won't do that to you. You haven't seen your dad in years! I won't make him leave just because I'm feeling weird about it."_

 _"_ _So it is my dad…"_

 _"_ _I…" Riko dropped her head into her hands. "I don't know what it is. I didn't think it'd bother me this much, but seeing you two reunite just struck something in me."_

 _Karina carefully turned her around and cupped her cheeks. "Sweetie, I never thought the day would come when you'd meet my dad, but now it's happened and I'm not all that surprised by you. You lost your real parents, Riko. It's okay to feel like this."_

 _Riko growled. "But I have Korra and Asami. I shouldn't feel like this!"_

 _"_ _You didn't have a dad, though."_

 _Riko sighed. "I'm not gonna get in between you and your father. You should spend as much time as possible with him while he's here." She hesitantly pulled away and headed back inside. "I'm gonna go pull an extra shift."_

 _"_ _No, you're not Riko. You're already working too much as it is."_

 _"_ _I just want to give you time with your father. You haven't seen him in years!"_

 _"_ _Yeah, but I'd like for you to live more than a couple more years! You're gonna work yourself to death!"_

 _Karina's father listened carefully from the kitchen as the couple wandered inside._

 _"_ _Look, I'm sorry I even made this about me, because it's not. This is about you catching up with your father and I'm gonna make sure you do it." Riko replied._

 _"_ _This is about us, together! He wants to know you too."_

 _"_ _I'm not in my right mind, Karina. You can see that. Now's not a good time to get to know me."_

 _"_ _Which is exactly why you shouldn't go back to work either. You need to rest."_

 _"_ _I'll take a nap between shifts. Stop worrying."_

 _"_ _All I do is worry about you!"_

 _Both went quiet, trying to catch their breath. Karina's father stood against the kitchen wall. "I can leave if you need me too. It is getting late."_

 _Karina was going to agree with him but Riko beat her to it. "No, it's okay sir. I just have to go pull a nightshift tonight and Karina wants me to call off. But I really can't stay, sir. I hope you don't mind. You are more than welcomed in our home, though."_

 _He stared knowingly at her. "That's fine, Riko. I can keep Karina company." They laughed. Riko thanked him and started for the door. Good thing she was still in her uniform. But then Karina rushed after her before she walked out._

 _"_ _You're not always right, you know?" Karina commented._

 _Riko smiled sadly and hung her head. "I know, but this is something I need to do." She started closing the door after her._

 _"_ _You're wrong." Karina said before the door shut quietly. The waterbender slowly made her way to the living room where her dad sat. She rubbed her face tiredly. "She's lying."_

 _"_ _I know, dear. I could see it. But from what I know about her, meeting me was not something she was ready for and I'm deeply sorry for causing any distress between you two." Her father replied._

 _Karina sighed and hugged her dad. "It's not your fault, dad. She just has some problems to work through still."_

 _"_ _But you still love her, right?"_

 _Karina blinked and separated from her father to look at him. "Of course I love her! I wouldn't have left the South for nothing."_

 _He chuckled. "I know, I know. I just think sometimes we need to hear those words more often. When's the last time you told her you love her?"_

 _Karina hung her head. "Last night, before we went to bed…"_

 _Her father rose a brow. "You didn't tell her before she left just now? Karina, I would think you'd say it more often, especially since she has a dangerous job!"_

 _Karina dropped her head into her hands. "I know, dad! But we don't see each other as much as normal couples. Sometimes she gets home so late that I'm already in bed and then she leaves super early in the morning. Sometimes she doesn't even come home! I don't know how she handles the workload."_

 _Her father carefully rubbed her back soothingly. "The next time you see her, I expect you to tell her how much you love her."_

 _Tears dripped from her eyes. "I'll tell her nonstop…_

* * *

 _Riko blinked her eyes open and was met with tattering wood. She groaned and crawled out from underneath her desk. Officers were started to roll in to start the dayshift. She sat in her chair and stretched out, popping several joints in the process. A few officers confusingly stared at her as they passed by. Riko knew she probably looked like a mess and wandered to the bathroom to straighten up herself. She grabbed a cup of coffee on the way back to her desk and started going through papers again._

 _Someone hopped onto her desk suddenly and put a hand over the papers she was going over. She looked up and gasped._

 _"_ _Riko, this isn't healthy. Whatever you're going through isn't worth sleeping here every other night."_

 _Riko huffed and lowered her head. "Chief Mako, I'm fine. It was just last night, I promise."_

 _"_ _Sato, I know you're lying. I see you here when I'm leaving wayyy after normal hours. I want you to start going home after your shift. The paperwork can wait until the next day." Mako paused to make sure Riko was listening. "That's an order."_

 _Riko groaned. "Yessir."_

 _Mako was happy enough with that answer and slid off of her desk and returned to his office. Several hours later, Korra wandered in to see if there was anything she could help with. She passed by her daughter's desk and saw her struggling to keep her head up. She paused and rose a brow, then sauntered over to her. "Riko? Are you okay?"_

 _Riko jumped up and started writing her report faster, then froze. "Huh, mom? What're you doing here?"_

 _Korra chuckled. "I'm just stopping by to see if Mako needs help with anything."_

 _Riko scoffed. "Probably not. It's been a quiet day, oddly enough. But now that I've said the 'Q' word we're probably gonna get really busy so you might as well ask him."_

 _Korra laughed and began walking away. Though when she reached Mako's office, she frowned. Something was wrong with her daughter. Was she working herself too hard? They didn't get to see her as often as they used to since she started working for the police._

 _"_ _Korra? What're you doing here?" Mako asked when he saw Korra enter his office._

 _"_ _I was just passing by and thought I'd see if you needed anything, but now I'm more worried about Riko."_

 _Mako sighed and returned to his papers. "I've tried sending her home, Korra, I swear. But she's adamant about getting her work done. I don't know what to do about it. I've tried forcing her to take off!"_

 _Korra sighed and crossed her arms. "She's gonna end up like you, a workaholic. I worry Karina will leave her because of it."_

 _Mako blinked. "That's it!"_

 _He then stood up to peek through the blinds of his office window. There he saw something he didn't want to see. He sighed and walked back to Riko's desk. The earthbender was laying her head on the table. He grabbed a large book from her desk and dropped it onto the floor. A loud_ bang _resounded through the room, startling all of the officers. Riko jumped up and started shuffling through papers frantically. "I'm awake! I'm fine!"_

 _"_ _Riko, we need to talk." Mako said as he started picking up piles of paperwork off of her desk. "What're you doing? I have to get that done!" Riko asked, startled._

 _"_ _Not now. Someone else will handle your work for now." Mako said. He started dropping the piles of papers on other officers' desks._

 _"_ _You're not giving my work to other officers! That's putting more work on them!"_

 _Mako slammed his hands down on the table. "You do more work than anyone!"_

 _Riko nervously pressed herself into the back of her chair. Mako sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could put Riko into an anxiety attack in her current condition if he wasn't careful. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat down beside her._

 _"_ _Riko, you're going to take the rest of the week off starting now. Don't bother arguing because I'm not backing down this time. I can tell you're drained physically and mentally. You need a break. I don't care what you do, just don't come back here until Monday, understand?"_

 _Riko grit her teeth. "No, I'm not dropping everything and leaving it all for my coworkers to do. They didn't do anything to deserve more paperwork."_

 _"_ _No, but you've been doing enough paperwork to last a month. I've never seen anything like it, honestly." Riko looked away and watched as her fellow officers went about their normal day. Mako laid a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention again._

 _"_ _Let me tell you a story about a young firebender who never made time for anyone. He practically lived in the office, often times in favor of avoiding his problems. He worked so hard that his family and friends forgot about him."_

 _At this point, Riko was paying clear attention to his story. Mako chuckled as he started remembering it. "Even his girlfriend left him. She almost destroyed the whole office when they broke up. That was hard to explain to Chief Bei Fong."_

 _Riko smiled at the thought of explaining such an event to the former Chief. Mako continued talking. "Every girl he was with after that always left him in the end. And now he's a lonely chief who worries he's working a certain earthbender too hard."_

 _Riko frowned as realization hit her. "I'm talking about myself here, but this could easily become your future as well. I know you take your work seriously, but there are times when enough is enough…"_

Enough is enough… _Riko remembered hearing Karina's father say that to her last night._

 _"_ _Korra left me because I worked so much that I didn't pay attention to her. Don't let that same fate happen to you and Karina." Mako finished._

 _Riko went wide-eyed at his confession. Mako watched as she processed the information. "Don't make me get Korra to force you out of here, or worse, I'll call Karina. And I don't think she'd appreciate-"_

 _Suddenly Riko grabbed her cup of coffee and downed the whole cup before jumping out of her chair and dashing out of the office. Several officers stopped to watch the dust form from her feet. Korra rose a brow and laughed as Mako returned to his office. She had watched the whole thing from the door. "What did you say to her? I've never seen her leave work like that."_

 _Mako chuckled. "I just told her about this one firebender who could never keep a girlfriend because he worked too much."_

 _Korra laughed as he sipped his coffee. "You seriously told her about that?! No wonder she ran for the hills."_

 _Mako laughed along with her. "Hopefully she really took the message to heart. I don't want her to end up like me."_

 _Korra's face softened with uneasiness. "She's a fast learner. She'll figure it out, I hope…"_

* * *

 _Riko burst through the front door and hurriedly ran throughout the apartment. She smiled when she found that her girlfriend wasn't home 'She must be at work still. Or she's with her father.'_

 _Either was fine, as long as she had a few hours by herself. She rushed into the kitchen and started throwing out ingredients for Karina's favorite food. She found everything she needed luckily. She set the fish in the sink to let in thaw while she got a pot of noodles boiling. Once that was taken care of, Riko got a broom and disinfectant spray out from the closet and started cleaning the whole apartment. She wiped all of the counters and tables off once she sprayed them and threw away all of the dust she swept up. She even cleaned their small home gym, which smelled awful by the way. It desperately needed cleaning, but both of them had been too busy to even work out let alone clean it._

 _Karina sighed as she opened the front door. It had been another long day of disputing with doctors on how to treat patients. There weren't very many waterbenders working there yet and none of them were as determined as her to get them the respect they deserved. As she started planning out dinner in her head, she was stopped by a fragrant smell wafting through the apartment. She rose a brow as she bended the water out of a flower jar. "Riko?" Who else could be here? Though even if it was her girlfriend, she never expected anything out of her._

 _She paused when she entered the living room. It had been wiped completely clean and smelled amazing. She slowly dropped her stance and the water in her hands. Did Riko do all of this? She carefully walked through the rest of their shared apartment and froze when she entered the kitchen. A full pot of pasta was cooked and ready on the stove alongside a tray of fish. A bottle of cheap wine sat on the counter next to it. But that's not really what grabbed her attention. Riko was asleep at the dining table. Cleaning equipment still sat on the table and Riko still had her uniform on. One hand held a bottle of spray on the table and the other hand rested in her lap. Her head was leaning on the back of the chair as she quietly snored._

 _Karina held in her giggle as she searched the apartment for the camera Asami had given them as a gift. She found it and hurried back into the kitchen to take a picture of her adorable girlfriend. It snapped and the flash finally awoke the metalbender. "Eh? Karina?! Oof!" She then proceeded to fall out of her chair and onto the floor. Karina giggled and snapped another photo. "Um, surprise?! I-I cleaned the apartment and cooked dinner for you!"_

 _Karina happily listened to Riko ramble on about what she had done to help. The photos finally slid out from the front of the camera and into her hands. Riko watched nervously as she taped them onto the fridge. "Wha? Don't put them on the fridge! I look awful."_

 _Karina sighed and tapped the photo. "You look tired. And this is a reminder that you work too hard sometimes. I want this to be a reminder to you that you need to take breaks that not only benefit you but benefit everyone around you. Understood?"_

 _Riko hung her head and listened. "Understood."_

 _Karina smiled and hugged her girlfriend tight. "Good. Now why in the world are you home and what compelled you to clean the apartment?"_

 _Riko smiled and pulled her closer to her. "I wanted to make up for how I've been acting. Not just last night, but for all of the times I overworked myself. I don't want to lose you."_

 _Karina frowned and pulled away enough to meet eyes with Riko. "What're you talking about? I'd never leave you, Riko. You're my whole world."_

 _Tears bit at the edges of Riko's eyes and she shoved her face into the waterbender's shoulder. Karina's eyes went wide when she felt a sob wrack through the other girl's body. "Riko! What's wrong? Talk to me, sweetie." Karina said as she grabbed her face._

 _"_ _I work too much and Mako said you'd leave me like Korra left him if I wasn't careful and I don't want to lose you!" Riko cried in one breath._

 _'_ _Mako…'_ _Karina sighed. "Well Mako does have a point about you working too much, but I wouldn't leave you because of that! If it ever came to that point, I'd force you home even if it meant I had to drag you out of the station with Korra's help and we'd talk it out."_

 _Riko sniffled as her crying died down. She nervously looked up. "Really?"_

 _Karina smiled down at her and pet her head. "Of course, dear. Have I ever lied to you before?"_

 _A smile slowly made its way onto Riko's face and she pulled away. "I love you, Karina, so much."_

 _Karina suddenly remembered her talk with her father. "I love you too, Riko. I'm never going to let you forget it."_

 _A bright smile appeared on Riko's face. She slowly started giggling until it turned into full-blown laughter. Karina rose a brow and smiled as she shook her head. "You're delusional, Riko dear. C'mon, I'll help you with your shower because I don't think you can do it by yourself right now."_

 _Riko pouted tiredly as Karina dragged her into the bathroom. "What about the dinner I made?"_

 _Karina's smile continued to brighten. "We'll eat dinner afterwards, I promise. And after that we're gonna lay in bed together so you can finally catch up the sleep you've been missing for weeks now and we're not gonna leave until we're hungry or have to pee. And every time I wake up in between I'm gonna lean over and kiss you on the cheek and tell you how much I love you."_

 _Just the thought of finally sleeping in her soft bed with her girlfriend made Riko smile in delight. Though dark bags hung under her eyes, she closed them in pleasure as steaming hot water hit her skin. "Sounds good."_

* * *

Karina took a long walk to clear her head. Sometimes her wife really pissed her off, but she knew she'd always love her. Riko was just so stubborn, like her mother. Karina sighed as she thought back to Riko's family and all they had been through. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Riko wouldn't give up until her family was safe again.

The waterbender sighed as she suddenly changed the direction she was walking in. She glanced around to make sure there wasn't paparazzi following her. She snuck into the back door of the police station. A few officers greeted her and expressed their condolences for their Chief's recovery. She eventually made it to the Chief's office and looked at the stacks of paperwork on her desk. She sighed, picking up a pile and sticking it in a spare backpack from the station so they wouldn't blow away.

Just as she exited the room and walked back down the hall, she heard a commotion down another hall. She stood there for a moment before going to investigate what was happening. A group of Riko's highest officers were huddled around a window, whispering quietly yet angrily.

"What's going on here?" Karina questioned.

The men looked up and gasped. "Mrs. Karina, w-what're you doing here?"

Karina shrugged, showing the bag. "Your Chief is getting restless so I figured I'd grab some work for her to do."

"How is she feeling? When will she return?" The men asked nervously.

The waterbender rose a brow. "Why? Is something going on?"

The men looked at each other with extreme anxiety. "Well," one officer spoke up. "We have the culprit of the attack but he isn't talking."

"Still?" Karina asked in surprise. "It's been over a week!"

"He has to be working with those other guys." Another officer said. The others agreed. Then another spoke up. "Oh! But didn't he say he would talk to the Chief?!" "Yeah!"

Karina stepped back. "What? Are you serious? That's absurd!"

"Yeah, he said he would only speak to the Chief."

"Why Riko?" Karina sighed. She looked up at the nervous men. "I'll see what I can do…"

* * *

Karina cautiously opened the front door. Oddly enough, the room was quiet. She slowly walked further into the apartment until she heard faint snoring from the bedroom. She sighed in relief that Riko went back to bed. The Chief was laying on her good side to avoid irritating her worse burn. One arm lay over the side of the bed.

She quietly dropped the bag at the foot of the bed and carefully crawled onto the bed to sit next to her. She rubbed her back contently, listening to the earthbender's snores. Even if she wanted to get out more, such an injury was draining to the victim.

Karina leaned down and kissed the top of her head. When she pulled up, she noticed something on the nightstand. She quirked a brow and reached over her wife to pick it up. She gasped when she saw that it was the picture she took so long ago. She glanced down to Riko.

"You really are something, aren't you? I guess I shouldn't expect no less from a daughter of Korra… I hope this ends soon." Karina whispered, more to herself than to Riko.

They continued to lay there for a few more minutes with Karina rubbing her back until Riko finally woke up from the sensation. "Huh, Karina…?" She asked sleepily.

Karina smiled sweetly at her. "Hi dear. How do you feel?"

"When did you come back?" Riko asked, ignoring her inquiry.

"Just a few minutes ago. I'm sorry I just left like that."

Riko began sitting up. "No, no. This is my fault, again. I really am sorry, hun. It's just being stuck here is driving me crazy, but I know that's no excuse for how I treated you."

Karina began to smile again. "So did you learn your lesson, again?"

Riko smiled back. "Yeah, this picture always helps set me straight."

Karina happily pulled her wife into her lap. "That's why I put it on the fridge, right where you would see it daily."

Riko snuggled under her chin. "I know, thanks."

"Well, since you apologized and everything…I guess I have no choice." The earthbender glanced up curiously. Her wife pointed to the bag on the floor. "I swung by your office and picked up some work for you to do."

Riko instantly sat up and looked to where she was pointing. A slow grin spread across her face again. "Really?!" She asked eagerly, looking back at the waterbender.

Karina chuckled and sighed. "Yessss, as much as I disapprove, I have to give you something to do."

"You act like I'm a child." Riko commented, sticking her tongue out.

Karina caught it with her forefingers. "One more thing, and don't you dare go running off when I tell you." She said seriously. The Chief nodded with her tongue still caught in her fingers. "*sigh* I talked to some of your lieutenants. They said that they were still interrogating the bomber. But the thing is…he won't talk to anyone but you. At least that's what he told them."

Riko began trying to pull away, but Karina had a firm grip on her tongue. The waterbender held still for a minute before letting go and her wife fell onto her back from the force of her trying to pull away.

"Ow…" The earthbender mumbled, rubbing her mouth. "Then I need to go to the station! If he won't-"

Karina grabbed her by the chin, essentially cutting her off again. "The culprit will be there in the morning, okay. You're still healing and besides it's almost dinnertime. So here's how this is going to work if you want to do your job. You're gonna stay here in bed while I fix dinner, then I'll bring it back and we'll eat together and listen to the radio, and then we'll go to bed. And we'll go to the station first thing in the morning. Understood?"

Riko slowly nodded, having slight trouble since Karina held her jaw in her hand. She was surprised that Karina was even going to let her go see the culprit. She figured it was her best option not to argue, which is always the best option anyway.

Karina smiled sickeningly sweet. "Good, now stay here."

Riko pouted and turned on the radio as her wife walked out, but at least she was spending the night in her arms once more, which was not how she planned for this day to go.


	13. Chapter 13

_"_ _Riko?" The earthbender slowly looked up. She and Asami had eventually calmed down and sat in the bed together. Karina had just entered the room again after giving them some time to settle down. "Um, I don't think anyone's told you yet…" Riko waited to hear the obvious. "You have a grandson."_

 _Riko blinked in shock. "W-Wha?" Karina cautiously smiled at her. She wasn't sure how well her wife would handle this, seeing as her mother just passed on. "Y-You mean, Olivia…?"_

 _Karina happily nodded to her. "Yeah, she went into labor around the same time we got you here."_

 _"_ _Wait." Riko scrunched her face. "How long have I been passed out?"_

 _Karina sighed. "For three days. When we got you here, you went straight into surgery. There wasn't any more I could do to help. I was just standing in the hallway, watching the door where they had taken you through when one of the other nurses ran by and told me about Olivia. I figured that you were in safe hands and went to help with the delivery."_

 _Riko hung her head. "I missed the delivery?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I'm sorry hun." Karina said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to go see them?"_

 _Riko immediately looked up with the slightest smile on her face. "Of course!"_

* * *

Riko scowled at the glass panel in front of her. Her wife carefully watched her before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure about this? You can wait until you're healed."

The earthbender huffed. "No, I have to do this now. Things will only escalate." She grit her teeth and rolled her shoulders, amping herself up to go into the room.

At first the prisoner didn't bother looking up, but when his guest remained quiet, he glanced up. He then smirked at the sight of his victim. "You're looking good for such a short time span, Chief. What do I owe this visit to?"

Riko struggled to keep her temper in check, but even she knew she wouldn't be able to do much in her current state. "You told my officers you wouldn't speak to anyone but me."

"That's right. That was part of my orders."

Riko placed her hands on the metal table. "Who are you working for?"

The firebender's smirk deepened. "I can't tell you that quite yet. But I have been given permission to enlighten you in another way."

The Chief scowled. "What would that be?"

"Heh, our purpose is much larger than just targeting the Avatar."

Riko squinted her eyes at him. "Explain."

The man shook his shoulder with humor. "Let's have some fun. I attacked you, didn't I? Who else is acquainted with both of you?"

She stared at the man, not quite understanding. "We're both important figure heads to the city."

The man tsked and shook his head. "Nope, you missed the point I was making. Take a moment to think about it. I've got all day."

Riko indulged his request for a minute before getting frustrated. She suddenly slammed her palms on the table. "I'm done playing games with you! Just talk!"

He sighed. "You know, we planned this whole thing out. My boss purposely sent me. Why send an earthbender to do a firebender's job? Besides, you'd wipe the floor with another earthbender." The firebender showed his palms momentarily, before a small flame erupted in each hand. Riko jumped back. Even though he was bound to the table by metal cuffs, he could still potentially attack again. Her men outside jumped to run in, but Karina stopped them with her arm, carefully watching. The man smirked again. "Someone's afraid of fire still. Who else was afraid of fire?"

Riko wracked her mind to understand what he was implying. The only person who came to mind other than her was her mother. "Asami, but her fear wasn't as bad."

The prisoner rose a brow at her, trying to convey that she was getting closer to his message. Riko growled. "Was it part of your job to mess with my head?"

The man chuckled. "No, I was just trying to make this more interesting than just spilling everything at once."

"Well I don't understand what you're trying to say. Something about my mother, my grandson, and I."

The man quickly made a swirling motion with his hand, signaling that she was onto something. "Okay, I'll help you a little bit. What are all of you?"

Riko was quickly growing tired of his bantering. What did she, her mother, and her grandson have in common?! They're all important to the city, but he already said that that wasn't it. She and Tadashi are earthbenders, but Asami was a non-bender. They all have green eyes? It couldn't be that simple. They were just family!

Riko gasped. She stared at the man wide-eyed as he twirled a small flame in his hand with a smirk. "Did you figure it out?"

"We're all…family."

The firebender smirked. "Ding ding ding! You got it!"

The scowl immediately returned to the Chief's face. "You're targeting my family?!"

Outside the room, Karina stared in awe at them while the officers scrambled in a hurry to check on their family.

"Why?!" Riko yelled inside.

The man sighed sadly and shrugged. "Sorry, I'm only allowed to the 'what,' not the 'why.' That'll probably be somebody else's job." He suddenly smirked darkly. "Do you know where your brother and sister are?"

Her mind instantly flashed back to the time all three of them were kidnapped as teens. She would not allow that to happen again. Riko dashed from the room into the horde of officers trying to get into contact with Sato family members.

* * *

Tadashi frowned as he walked away from school. Neither Abigail nor Leroy spoke to him at all today. Of course, they were only obeying their father's orders. It still hurt, though. They were his only friends, beside Sachi.

Hiro skipped beside him and nudged his hand. The armadillo-lion now reached up to Tadashi's hip. The young Avatar smiled and pet his head. The animal started purring, but it soon turned into a growl. Tadashi scowled and looked around.

The White Lotus guard had stopped and they saw a man approaching them. Tadashi gulped and Hiro slid into front him in a protective stance.

"Sir, you are not authorized to speak with the Avatar." The guard spoke.

The man chuckled. "Do you even know who I am? He's my son."

The guard went wide-eyed, seeming unsure about what to do. Kenji scoffed and stepped toward his son. "How are you, son?"

Tadashi stared up at him for a minute before speaking. "I'm fine, dad. What do you want?"

"What, you don't want to see me? Your mother's been telling you things, hasn't she?" Kenji asked, showing some of his anger.

"No, she hasn't actually. Some people just have a knack for sensing people." Tadashi replied tensely.

Kenji laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder before they started walking again. "Oh, please, more Avatar crap? Listen son, I didn't come here to argue. I wanted to ask how your training has been going."

Tadashi pulled out of his grasp, but they continued walking as they talked. "It's fine, dad. Things have been going well for us."

"Have you firebended yet?" Kenji asked with a smirk.

Tadashi scowled at him. "No, father. I'm still mastering water and air. I'm not ready."

Kenij chuckled. "Well I'm always available if you ever want to learn."

The Avatar huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm not learning from you. Uncle Kohaku will teach me."

Kenji began laughing again. "Ahaha, that 'man' is going to teach you firebending?! He barely stays in one place at once! That won't work."

"He's been staying in the city since things started happening. You know, because _family_ stick up for each other."

His father feigned sadness. "Oh, am I not family?"

"You are my biological father, but it doesn't go anywhere past that. You haven't been a real dad to me. Mom's took care of me since the beginning by herself."

Kenji suddenly showed real surprise on his face. Tadashi scoffed and began walking off without him. "We're done talking, father."

They were starting to approach the Sato coffee shop. Tadashi began walking faster, not wanting his mom to see his father. Things most definitely would go downhill real fast. Hiro growled at his father once more before running to catch up with the boy.

"Tadashi, wait! Don't be like that!" Kenji yelled after them.

Tadashi sighed in annoyance. What did his father really want? He was up to something, he could feel it. However, he didn't have time to think about as the shop door opened and the bell dinged. Tadashi slapped a hand to his forehead.

Olivia ran out of the shop, still wearing an apron, and pulled Tadashi behind her. "Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked roughly.

Tadashi nodded. "Yeah, other than a little annoyed."

Olivia growled and marched up to the firebender. "You have no right to follow Tadashi home and pester him! I told you, you're not welcomed with us anymore! Leave, _now_ , before I let my temper get the better of me." Olivia yelled at him, poking him in the chest.

She took a breath and began walking back towards their home with her son when Kenji spoke up again. "You may deny me my rights as a father, but he needs a firebending teacher. There's no denying that."

Olivia grit her teeth together hard to force her rage back. She spoke no more, simply guiding her son inside the shop. Hiro followed after his master after growling at the firebender once more.

* * *

The Sun seemed like it had been setting over the horizon for hours now. The sky was orange and slowly turning pink. Tadashi had been looking through his window for some time now. His mother was in a high stress mode after their run-in with Kenji. She closed shop early and spent the rest of the evening stress-cleaning. However, now she was on the phone with someone, probably one of his grandmothers because she was being quite expressive about what happened.

He heard a purr below him and smiled when he saw that Hiro was asleep in his lap. Suddenly, he felt a gentle wind blow through his hair. He scowled. Looking around, he noticed that all of the window were closed. Maybe it was the air-conditioning. Nope, there went another gust.

Tadashi stood up, carefully dropping Hiro onto his bed. Another gust of wind shook his hair. He followed it as it seemed to be guiding him somehow. It was moving purposely, nudging him in different directions when he went the wrong way.

It showed him to a shelf. Suddenly a picture frame fell, but he was quick to catch it. The wind circled around him once before dissipating. He rose a brow and then glanced at the photo. It was a black and white photo of his previous life's family. Korra was asleep in bed with all three of her children sleeping at her side. Asami was in the corner of the photo, trying to fit herself in the picture that she was taking.

It was weird for Tadashi to see a younger version of his grandmother Riko. The earthbender was under one of Korra's arms. Kohaku was under the other arm. And Nami was laying on top of Korra's chest. They all looked so young then. Tadashi could tell it was at least before they started pro-bending for the second time, because Riko didn't have the scar across her forehead. He had heard tons of stories about their childhood, but they still looked much younger than when that happened. But why did the weird wind guide him to this picture?

He glanced around. No more wind. He looked back at the picture, studying it carefully. They all looked so carefree. Of course, he never got to meet Korra. He didn't remember meeting Asami, but apparently they had pictures of her holding him as a baby. Tadashi was four when she too passed on. They didn't even know he was the Avatar then.

Tadashi suddenly gasped and looked back at Korra. He swirled around the room, looking for any sign of her. That wind could have only been one person. "Korra…?" He whispered.

The slightest of winds brushed his hand. He gasped and ran into his room. He sat the frame down and quickly rummaged through his box. He found the small water fountain that Master Jinora had given him and sat it on the ground next to him as he sat crisscross style. He paused his motions to take a few calming breaths, then put his fists together in front of him.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in that purple and green world from before. He glanced around and smiled brightly when he saw her across from him yet again. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it.

Korra smiled ever-so brightly and stood up. She held her hand out for him to pull himself up. As soon as he was on his feet, he was pulled into a tight embrace. He smiled sadly as he returned the hug. They soon separated. Korra showed her palm and opened her arm behind her. She motioned with her head for him to follow her. They didn't need to exchange any words. He nodded and grabbed her hand.

A bright light blinded them, and suddenly they were in the arctic tundra. He gripped her hand tighter, seeking comfort as he was surprised. She whistled and a loud pounding sound rapidly found them. He smiled at the sight of what felt like a familiar polar-bear dog. He knew who she was. Korra jumped on her saddle and pulled him up in her lap and Naga took off as she pulled the reins.

They soon arrived at a lively festival. Families walked around happily. Kids ran around playing tag. Boys stood in game booths trying to win giant stuffed animals for a girl. Tadashi looked back at Korra when he saw teenage Korra with a boy with spiky hair and eyebrows. He had just won Korra a stuffed sky bison. Korra chuckled and shook her head. Tadashi chuckled with her. He knew who Mako was.

Time seemed to fast-forward to where teenage Korra was standing just outside of the festival fighting a dark spirit. He gasped as he watched her get tossed around. Her friends tried to help, but it was useless. That is, until a man with dark blue robes and long brown hair approached the spirit calmly.

The dark spirit roared and charged at him. The man took a breath and began waving his arms around. Bright blue tendrils rose from the ground and circled the spirit. Bright light slowly traveled up the strings as the spirit calmed down. The dark spirit lit up and eventually faded away and the air was calm again.

Tadashi watched in awe. He'd never seen anything like that. He looked up to see her predecessor's face, but was surprised to see a small scowl on her face. Did something happen between her and the man?

He wouldn't have a chance to ask as another bright light blinded him and they were back in the purple and green world. Something was still trying to pull him away. He felt his throat tighten. He watched Korra to see if she would say anything, but she remained quiet. He felt the pull in the back of his mind, but pushed it away. He wanted, no, needed to ask her so many things. Why did she bring him here today? What did the vision she showed him mean?

"Tadashi…"

He growled as he pushed the pressure away again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Korra looked away from him, as if in thought.

"Tadashi!"

Korra glanced back at him and smiled. She waved goodbye to him as the pressure finally got to him.

"Tadashi!"

The young Avatar jolted awake. He looked all around and saw his mother kneeling next to him. She looked frantic yet surprised. Was something going on?

"Were you…?" She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, son, but we need to leave _now_."

Now he was really confused. He rose a brow as his mother helped him to his feet and started packing things for both of them.

"M-Mom…" He started. He grabbed onto his bed. He felt exhausted for some reason.

Olivia noticed and rested a hand on his shoulder as she checked on him. "Are you okay, hun?"

"Y-Yeah, just tired I guess. Is something going on?"

Olivia gulped and turned back to their bags. "I'll explain once we get to Air Temple Island."


	14. Chapter 14

_A knock came on Olivia's room door before someone entered. She didn't bother to look up, figuring it was just another nurse. However, she heard a gasp and questionably looked up. She too gasped and almost started to cry. "Mom!"_

 _Riko put in a brave face and tearfully smiled at her. "Hey badgermole. I heard you finally had your own little badgermole."_

 _Olivia chuckled. She watched as Karina rolled the wheelchair Riko was in closer to the bed. The Chief innocently looked at the bundle in her daughter's arms. Olivia giggled and raised the bundle to her. "Would you like to hold him, mom?"_

 _Riko nervously met eyes with her and nodded with a gulp. Karina took the baby from her daughter's grasp and helped Riko hold him since she only had one working arm. Tears sprung to Riko's eyes. She was met with the most beautiful hazel eyes and there was a small patch of brown hair on his head. The baby blinked up at her, like he knew who she was. "He's beautiful. I'm so proud of you." Riko said quietly. She looked back between her wife and her daughter. "What's his name?"_

 _Olivia smiled lovingly. "His name is Tadashi. Tadashi Sato."_

 _While the happy family rejoiced at the new baby boy, the head of the Sato clan leaned against the doorframe watching them. Asami smiled sadly. They had lost Korra, but they gained Tadashi. She quickly shook her head and wiped away the new tears that fell._

* * *

"Riko!" Karina yelled after her. She pulled up to the side of the road, following the Chief. Riko huffed and jumped into the car. "What was your plan exactly? Run all across the city looking for them? Not in your condition."

The Chief crossed her arms, glaring out of the window. "We need to find them before someone else does. They could be in danger."

Karina nodded. "Okay. Where to first?"

Riko pondered silently for a minute before speaking up. "Future Industries."

* * *

Nami scribbled on several sheets of paper. Her daughter stood behind her to watch. They seemed to be getting along a little better. "That's incredible, mom. I can't believe you made all of these things."

Nami smiled sadly. "Yeah well Asami helped start some of them. She was the real genius."

Hikari frowned and dropped her head. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more…"

Nami swiveled her chair around to see her. "It's okay, sweetie. I don't think there was much more anyone could have done. She missed Korra too much."

Hikari walked away and leaned against the back window. "I wasn't even here, mom. How can you act so nonchalant about it?"

"You weren't the only one who became distant. I did too, along with Riko and Kohaku. I did my best to remind her what she had to live for still, but we reminded her too much of Korra. The others couldn't stay around her for long. It hurt everyone." Nami explained sadly. She was going to continue, but suddenly the office door slammed open. She glared at their guest for ruining their moment. "I hope this is important because that's the fifth door you've cracked."

Riko huffed and dropped her hands to her knees. Karina soon caught up to her and rubbed her back. "We…have to get…you out of here."

Nami frowned at both her appearance and at what she said. "Is something going on?"

Karina decided to speak for her wife who was still catching her breath. "We got the attacker to talk. He admitted that the group he's working for is not only after the Avatar, but after the whole Sato clan."

Both Hikari and Nami went wide-eyed in surprise. "What?! That's absurd! Why?!"

Riko finally stood up straight again. "He wouldn't tell us why. He said that someone else who likely tell us that. Then he asked if I knew where my family was."

Nami gasped at the implication. "But…" She didn't know what to say.

Hikari stepped up. "Where's Uncle?"

Riko eyed her. "He's our next stop. Now c'mon, we gotta get out of here. Future Industries is probably the last place we should be right now."

The waterbenders silently followed them to their car. Riko slid back to her sister's side. "Did I interrupt something?"

Nami scoffed. "No, not much."

* * *

Kohaku scowled at the guy in his orphanage. "Look man, I already told you your application is still being processed. I understand you and your wife are able to house children immediately. However, it still takes time. If you keep coming here every day pestering my workers I'll have your request terminated. Do you understand?"

The man frowned and nodded. He argued no more and left the home. Riko walked past him as she walked in. She rose a brow and continued towards her brother. "What was that about?"

"That guy wants to take in ten children. Ten! He says he's got plenty of room since all of his children have flown the coop, but we also have tons of room here. It's not like this mansion can't hold a couple hundred kids!" Riko stifled a laugh as her brother rambled on. "Sorry, I got caught up in it."

The Chief waved her hand. "It's okay. But we got to get you outta here."

Kohaku crossed his arms. "Why? What's happened now?"

"I got the attacker to talk. His group is targeting our whole family. It's not safe here."

"I can't just leave, Riko."

Riko made a face. "What're you talking about? You leave to visit the Earth Kingdom all of the time!"

"But those trips are planned ahead of time! I can't just drop everything."

"We're not going far. You'll still be in RC." Kohaku seemed to be thinking about it, so she continued. "If something happens here, you can come back. But right now, this place is not safe for you."

Kohaku gave her a cold stare. "So we're running like cowards now? Since when did you become so afraid?"

Riko growled. "Kohaku, we don't have time for this!"

"I'm not leaving here, Riko. If this place is in danger, then it's my duty to protect the orphans here. I'm sorry."

Riko opened her mouth to argue, but how could she? He made a valid point. This kids were now in danger because of them. She sighed and put her hand out. Kohaku took it and pulled her into a hug. "Just stay in touch." She whispered.

He squeezed her shoulder. "I will. Now go."

Riko pulled away and ran back to the car. It was getting dark out. The Sun just over the horizon. "What happened?!" Nami asked impatiently.

The Chief quietly slid back into her seat. "Kohaku's not coming. He says he needs to protect the orphans now that they're in danger now too."

Karina tried to hide a smirk. "He loves those kids too damn much."

Riko chuckled humorlessly. "That he does. Now let's get out of here. Olivia should be at the island by now."

* * *

The island was quiet. All of the airbenders had retreated to their dorms for the night. Tadashi took a deep breath in his crisscross position.

"Are you ready?" Master Jinora asked across from him.

He gulped and then nodded. Jinora smiled. "Remember, I'm right here."

The Avatar nodded once more before slipping into his meditation pose. "Now think back to when Korra called out to you. What did it feel like?"

The boy didn't respond, only sought for the answer in his mind. It was different. It was like he could only get to his previous life when she initiated it. He planned to change that tonight. 'I'll find you, Korra.'

Tadashi took a deep breath and realized that the air felt like it had shifted. He opened his eyes and was surprised to be greeted by the green and purple of the world where Korra resided in. At first he was overjoyed, but then he gulped in uncertainty as the woman was nowhere in sight. He opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly too nervous to say anything. No words had ever been spoken here. He walked about for a bit, but the place was empty.

"Hello Tadashi."

The boy jumped around and smiled. His predecessor stood before him with a bright smile on her face. "It's about time you made it here on your own." She laughed and ruffled his hair.

He laughed with her and shook her off. "Hello Korra." Abruptly his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "How come we can talk to each other now?"

Her smile brightened. "You'll find out when you leave, kid. But for now, I want to show you something."

Tadashi blinked in confusion, but nodded anyway. With a snap of a finger, they were back in the South. A loud crash directed his eyes towards a fight. Two waterbenders were fighting each other. One was the same man from the spirit attack.

The younger Avatar looked up at the woman with questions in his eyes. Korra sighed. "That's my father fighting my uncle. There was once a time when the two water tribes were at war with each other. My uncle Unalaq was ruler of the North and he wanted the South. As you probably know, my father was Chief of the South. They didn't see eye-to-eye."

She paused, watching her father fight a losing battle. She glanced down at the boy. "I thought my uncle wanted peace, but he really wanted control, of both the South and of the Avatar. He showed me how to calm spirits, but it was really so I could open the spirit portal for him." Korra placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not all family can be trusted. I had to learn that the hard way."

Tadashi frowned and dropped her head. Korra noticed and kneeled in front of him. "Sometimes it's like I don't know which side my father is on."

Korra gave a slight smile. "What really are the sides to it?"

Tadashi blinked in surprise. What were the sides? People for the Avatar and people against the Avatar? If that was the case, he really didn't know about his father anymore. The man tried to be a good father when he was around him, but he just had this feeling that something was off.

Suddenly Korra looked up to the sky. "Hm, someone is looking for you. I guess our time is up. I'm glad we finally had a chance to talk, Tadashi."

Tadashi looked up, but he was already back in the real world. He saw several faces all around him. His brows rose in confusion. "What?"

Jinora chuckled as she sat back in relief. "Well, you went into the Avatar state."


	15. Chapter 15

_'_ _Keep it together. You're a Sato. I'm stronger than this.' Riko said in her head over and over again. Karina stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder. Riko couldn't look around, but there was a lot of people there. Asami stood in the front alongside Senna and Tonraq. Those were probably the only people taking it harder than Riko right now. She could hear Tonraq having a difficult time comforting the two women seeing as he was crying too. Riko was still stuck in a wheelchair, with Karina pushing her around. Kohaku and Nami stood beside her quietly. Kohaku was trying to keep up his brave face but was starting to crack. Nami kept dabbing her eyes to hide her tears. Around the rest of the field were several other prominent figures. The whole Bei Fong family came. Tenzin was nearby with his family, along with the new airbenders. Opal was tucked under Bolin's arm to try to cheer him up. The earthbender had already suffered too much loss in his life. Many political leaders, like Wu and the Fire Lord, were also there to give their respects._

 _Riko almost couldn't handle the proceedings. They were burying Korra today, coincidentally in the park named after her, under her statue. The family had discussed taking this to the South Pole, her homeland. However, they realized that Korra had definitely made Republic City her permanent home and decided to keep it here._

 _Afterwards, many people left to grieve in private. Some stayed behind, reminiscing about the past. Riko sat off in the distance alone. She let her wife wander off to talk to some of their friends and family. Soon afterwards, she felt a presence behind her. She didn't have the energy to check who it was. A rough hand landed on her shoulder and she knew who it was. The former Chief gripped her shoulder hard. "Breathe." Lin ordered quietly. Riko sucked in some air and released a shaky breath. Tears starting pricking at her eyes again, which she had been trying to force away. Lin kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in her own. "You need to cry it out."_

 _"_ _I've cried enough, Lin." Riko replied roughly. This reminded her a little bit of Katara's funeral, which she was trying not to have a repeat of what happened that day. She took another shaky breath and gripped Lin's hand in return. So many thoughts ran through her head, she didn't know what to say. Lin could practically see the thoughts forming but didn't try to stop her. Riko opened and closed her mouth multiple times, never able to form any syllables. At last she let out a quiet sob and began crying. Lin quickly hugged the poor woman._

* * *

"The Avatar state?! But I've never done that before! How?!" Tadashi yelled.

Jinora patted his shoulder before standing up. "I'm not sure. Did something different happen with your visit?"

Tadashi then gasped. "Yeah, I was finally able to talk to Korra! The other times we couldn't talk. She'd just show me things."

Jinora smiled. "I think because you initiated the contact this time, you activated the Avatar state, thus you were able to talk."

Tadashi sat still for a few minutes to comprehend what had happened. Jinora found her way back inside while Olivia took her place next to her son. "Sweetie, how do you feel?"

"I'm okay, mom, just kind of shocked is all."

When the boy asked Master Jinora for help, this was not what anyone was expecting as a result. The rest of his family, minus one, stood on the balcony of the temple. They were surprised when they made it to the island to find the Avatar in meditation with his eyes glowing. Riko was astounded. She knew the power behind the ability, even though she had only seen it a few times. She could count on her hand the times she had seen Korra in the Avatar state.

The four women followed Jinora to show them to their rooms. Tadashi still appeared shaken when they left. Karina had just settled into the bed while Riko brushed her teeth when a knock came on their door. The Chief finished up quickly and went to the door. "Tadashi? What's wrong?"

Tadashi frowned as her peered past her. "Uncle Kohaku isn't with you."

Riko frowned. "I'm sorry, sweetie. He wanted to stay at the orphanage in case it was targeted. Why are you looking for him?"

Tadashi sighed and backed out of their room. "I was wondering if he could at least talk to me about firebending. I haven't even attempted to firebend."

Riko scowled, wondering if this had anything to do with his father. "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow."

Tadashi looked up excitedly. "Are you going to see him?"

Riko sighed. "Well, I was going to run back to our apartment and pick up a few things, but I figured I'd stop to see him on your behalf."

"Let me come with you!"

Riko blinked and stepped back. "Tadashi, it's not safe."

"I'm perfectly safe as long as I'm with you." Tadashi argued.

Riko smiled sadly. This kid still had faith in her, even after the attack. She abruptly ruffled his hair, making him pout. "I guess there's no arguing with the Avatar. Fine, you can come, but we're leaving early. So you need to go get sleep."

Tadashi smiled brightly. Riko's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the vibrant smile of her mother. The young boy hugged her. "Thanks, grandma! I'll see you in the morning."

The boy ran out of her arms and back to his room. Riko chuckled and returned to her room.

"He sure is growing up, isn't he?" Karina asked from the bed, her nose in a book.

Riko carefully crawled into bed next to her. "He is. It kind of scares me."

Karina set the book on the nightstand and pulled her wife onto her chest. "I understand, hun. I feel the same way. One day the world is going to need him more than we need him."

The Chief hummed nonchalantly and nestled under her neck. The waterbender poked her in the ribs, making her jump. "And you better keep him safe tomorrow. I don't think Olivia can handle any more stress."

* * *

"Remember, stay close to me. We still don't know what the enemy is planning." Riko said as they got off of the boat.

Tadashi has a stern, serious expression. "Got it, Chief. Let's go."

The walk to their apartment was quiet for the most part, the exception being the morning rush hour. Riko quickly packed a bag full of clothes for both her and Karina. Then the duo were back on the street, heading to the orphanage. They passed his school on the way. His expression dropped when he saw his friends walking to school by themselves. Suddenly an idea struck him. He looked up to the Chief and motioned towards his friends.

Riko sighed after a moment and nodded. "I'll be right over here. I'm gonna grab us breakfast. Make it quick."

Tadashi nodded and swiftly made his way through the crowd. "Abby!" He whispered loudly from behind her. The girl jumped around quickly in surprise. "Tadashi?! What're you doing here?"

"I'd love to catch up but I really need your help! How do you firebend?"

Abigail blinked in confusion. "Tadashi, I can't just teach you how to firebend in two minutes."

"I know, but…just show me really quick." Tadashi asked quietly.

Abigail, as confused as she was, carefully produced a flame in her palm. The young Avatar watched eagerly. "Where have you been, Tadashi?" The firebender asked quietly.

The boy finished his mental notes and looked up at her. The fire in her palm reflected in his eyes, revealing a deep untapped power. She gasped and extinguished the flame in an instant.

"I'm sorry, Abby, Leroy too. I can't say much. My family is being targeted so we've sort of gone into hiding. I'll be back soon. Thank you."

"Wait!" She yelled after him before he ran away. "Why did you want to see me firebend?"

He turned back to her with a bright smile. "I don't have a firebending teacher yet. I have to learn firebending somehow, right?"

Abigail returned the smile. "Well if you ever return to town I'd be happy to teach you."

Tadashi smiled brighter and saluted goodbye. He turned to find his grandmother and Abby ushered her brother inside, when suddenly there was a loud crash.

Tadashi looked back at his friends, who started to run towards him. He pointed to the school. "No! Get inside! It's not safe!"

"Tadashi, let us help!"

His voice dropped. "I can't let you do that today." He then rammed his fists into the air and created a wall between him and the school. He only hoped that would persuade his friends to find shelter. Another loud _bang_ sounded nearby. He turned and saw his grandmother fighting off outlaws.

"Grandma!" Tadashi dashed over to help. He sent a rock at an opponent who had ducked behind his grandmother. The woman nodded over in thanks and they began to fight side-by-side. It only took taking down four more enemies for them to realize this was a setup.

Riko sent off an earthquake, disrupting the flow of oncoming enemies. Tadashi was bending more than earth at this point and airbended the unbalanced attackers back.

The air became tense. As the benders got up, they no longer attacked and made way for someone to come through. A hooded figure began walking between the men. Riko ushered her grandson behind her. Things just got way more complicated. As he approached them, he looked at them closely. A mask covered the lower half of his face, making it hard to identify him, but something jumped out of Riko. She could see his eyes still.

It struck her like lightning. Those icy cold blue eyes; she'd recognize them anywhere. She grit her teeth together and the earth rose around her unknowingly. This man…was the reason everything fell apart!

Tadashi noticed the Chief's demeanor change and backed up slowly. Riko stepped closer to the masked figure. "I should've known this gang was ran by someone so cowardly. Did you need this much help to finish what you started eleven years ago?"


	16. Chapter 16

_Asami quietly cried at her desk for the fourth time that day. The woman hadn't returned to work yet and she was trying to do some work at home, but nothing ever really got completed. However, this time was different. She finally forced herself to read Korra's last thoughts. She finished reading it and tossed it back onto her desk._

Avatar Korra Sato's Will

 _If I die young, I'm sincerely sorry to everyone. But being the Avatar comes with that chance. I wrote this early on in my life, revising it several times after I finally formed our family. Asami Sato, I love you and our family with all of my heart. I will always be with you._

 _One of the most important things, I leave Naga in the hands of Asami Sato. Don't be surprised if she passes away after a short time following this as well. The Avatar and their animal guide are connected, so it's likely she'll pass on too._

 _There's not much else I own really. Everything I have belongs to Asami. So I'll let her delegate that when the time comes. Any of my Avatar stuff can go to Tenzin to be put in some sort of display I'm sure he'll want._

 _Riko, I'm sure you're probably blaming yourself right now. I'm sure by this time you're working with the police, meaning you work alongside me often times. Don't take all of the guilt. First, because it's not your fault. Second, when you don't realize you're blaming yourself, your family is there to help you._

 _Kohaku, don't get too mad at Riko. She tries to take all of the shame and guilt all on her own so you and Nami don't have to, but it doesn't work that way. You and Riko are close, so stick by her side when it seems that she may lose it._

 _Nami, I simply ask that you be there for your family. I know you're busy with Asami and Future Industries, but don't forget what is most important: family._

 _Asami and I started this family on accident (and not like how most people do it). But I can say it was one of the best decisions of my life. I love all three of you equally. Don't forget that. My life may have been crazy and unpredictable at times, but it was perfect._

* * *

Tadashi perked up. Eleven years ago? That was when… He gasped. He felt goosebumps ride his skin and pressure build up in his chest. It was suddenly hard to breath.

"It's okay, Tadashi. I'll protect you no matter what. Just stay back." Riko ordered quietly.

Tadashi stepped back and felt something drip off of his chin. What? He glanced at his hand and saw clear liquid. He was crying?

"See? Even your grandson knows this is futile." The older man spoke.

Riko growled and blocked his sight from the boy with her arm. "Don't get him involved in this."

"Oh? But after I'm finished with you, he's next." The mask rose slightly as the man smirked.

Riko was now way past her limit and abruptly rocketed earth towards him. The man dodged easily without even bending. She dashed forward and attempted to punch him, but he dodged again.

"My fight is not with you, Chief."

"You sure made it my fight by targeting my family!"

The man finally produced his own element. A water-whip whirled through the air, heading straight for Riko. She quickly produced an earth wall to block it. Suddenly something dashed past her and she gasped. "No, Tadashi!"

The boy ignored her though, deciding to go for the offensive. Something deep inside him had boiled over his normal calm demeanor. He had never felt more enraged before. Water was quickly headed his way and he jumped over it. He produced what he thought was air and shot at him, but he was surprised when heat erupted from his hands. He landed and looked at his hands. However, he didn't have a lot of time to think about it before another attack was aimed at him.

"And here everyone thought the Avatar would never bend fire! I guess he just needed some pressure! I'm sure his father will be proud to hear that!"

Tadashi growled and began rocketing fireballs at him, which were easily dodged. Riko pulled him back by his shoulders. "Tadashi, stop! This is the first time you're firebending! We need to keep it under control!"

He huffed angrily and glanced around. She was right. Several small fires now laid in the streets. He quickly pulled water over them to stop it from furthering.

"I'm no firebender, but from what I know, fire is controlled by anger." The waterbender spoke.

Riko glared at him. "Like you said, you're no firebender. You don't know what you're talking about."

The waterbender sighed and ran a hand through his hair, throwing off his hood. "I came here simply to evaluate where our Avatar was at. I would've enjoyed fighting one-on-one, but I guess that won't be happening with you around, Chief." He began walking away, but paused. "Shouldn't you still be recovering from your fight with the firebender? I heard it was quite serious."

Riko huffed at him. She was tense. "My recovery is none of your business."

However, she didn't have a chance to finish her entire statement. The man whipped around and fired an ice dagger at her, aimed at her heart. Her reaction was delayed, but Tadashi saw it coming and was able to waterbend it to the side. It still struck her shoulder.

"Grandma!"

A siren could be heard in the background. Riko looked up and most of the benders were gone. The waterbender was the last one standing. His mask rose, signaling he was smirking. "We'll meet again."

Whether the statement was meant for her or Tadashi, she didn't know. She stood up with the boy's help. There was nothing more they could do except wait for backup.

* * *

Kohaku was playing with some toddlers when an older child ran into the giant playroom. "Mr. Kohaku, you have guests!"

"Guests? That's odd. I'll be there in a minute!" He finished entertaining the children and wandered out into the foyer. He blinked in surprise when he saw who at there. "What happened to you?!"

His sister stood there with her arms crossed. Bandages covered her shoulder and part of her tank top was bloody. "What do you think happened? We were attacked, _again_."

That was when the firebender noticed the young Avatar wandering around the building. "Tadashi was with you?! Riko, this is getting out of hand!"

The Chief sighed. "I know! But I'm gonna end it soon."

" _You?_ You're gonna end it? Riko, do you see yourself right now? You've only gotten into small scraps with lackeys and look where it's gotten you! You can't do this by yourself!"

"I have to!" Riko yelled back.

Kohaku took a moment to study his sister. Something was wrong inside. "What's wrong?"

Riko sighed roughly and ran a hand through her hair. "I know who the leader is."

Kohaku went wide-eyed. "That's good, isn't it?"

Riko shook her head and sat down on a nearby couch. Kohaku followed her. "It's him."

"Him?" He paused to let her explain, even though he was certain of what she was talking about. "You're gonna have to elaborate on that, sis."

"It's the man who killed Korra!"

The air instantly became tense and quiet. Kohaku remained silent, processing what she had just said. Riko got up and began pacing. "It all makes sense now! Korra was just the start of it. Think about it. Our family has always had a lot of power. He probably thought taking down Korra would end all of it. And he did succeed a little bit. It brought Asami down too. He brought down our family leaders, so we were on our own."

"Then Tadashi was born." Kohaku answered quietly.

"Exactly! Tadashi was born and found out to be the Avatar! With the three of us being highly-respected leaders of the city, we're still considered in high power."

"But even so, it's not like we're abusing our power! You're the Chief-of-Police! I help orphans find homes! And Nami just invents new technology! So what?!"

Riko kneeled down in front of him. "So what, is that little boy right there." She said as she pointed to Tadashi, who was talking to some of the kids. "He's the one they're really after. I think if it was just us three, the enemy wouldn't care as much. I mean, we're getting old. All of us are reaching the age to retire. We're gonna leave our jobs to people outside of the family. So things will no longer be in the Sato name."

They sat quietly watching Tadashi airbend around the room to entertain the orphans. After a minute, Kohaku spoke up. "What do we do?"

Riko glanced at him. "What _you_ can do is teach the Avatar how to firebend."

"What? But I thought he hadn't…"

Riko let out a chuckled as she huffed. "He started firebending during the fight today. I'll say it shocked everyone, even their leader."

"That's strange, for it to come on so suddenly…" Kohaku whispered as he rubbed his chin.

"The leader… He said it was brought on by anger. Is that true?" Riko asked quietly.

Kohaku looked down at her in shock. "Is that what he said? That's not always true."

Riko sighed. "It doesn't matter to me. Just please explain it to Tadashi before you actually start practicing." The Chief stood up to get the Avatar, but stopped and turned back to her brother. "He also mentioned something about Tadashi's father. I'm starting to think he really is involved somehow. But I didn't see him among his men."

Kohaku stood up with her and together they walked towards the kids. "Well either way, he's still not allowed to be around Tadashi or anyone in our family."

* * *

 **A/N: Sadly I have no more written for this story at the moment. I'm taking a break from this story to help clear my head. Personally I don't see a lot of views or people liking it, so if you enjoy this story _please_ let me know. I love hearing other's critiques of my work, good or bad...**


	17. October Update

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I've been around.

Currently, I'm very busy with school. Taking 6 classes means there's a lot more bad days than good ones. It's been a rough two months. My computer busted last week and I had to buy a new screen. Then this week someone decided to throw a rock at my car windshield. Luckily it got repaired today.

Anyway, I got invited to an online writing contest and I'd really appreciate it if you could go there and vote for "The Waterbender's Love and the Mechanic's Passion" story. I'm surprised that so many people still continue to find my work and actually _like it_. I look back on it now and see things I could have done better but that's part of the process. I'm going to continue to learn and get better. Maybe one day I'll be good enough to actually publish. Who knows...?

So the link to the contest website is in (slash) fandom. Just go to and click fanfiction contest at the top. If you then click "Latest," you should see mine since I just posted it . I don't know all of the details to the contest since I just read the invite this evening, but I'd really love it if it got some love over there. :)

If I'm honest, I don't know the future of this story. I really want to continue it but the fault is on me. I jumped the gun when the gun was blank. I had no idea what I was going to do for a sequel other than a story about the new Avatar. So I apologize for not being able to keep up with this story.


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